When Kamala Harris touched down in Augusta on Wednesday, she found a city contemplating how much of their lives had been lost to Hurricane Helen.
“I’m here to personally inspect the devastation,” Harris said after being briefed by Georgia emergency response leaders. “It’s especially devastating in terms of the loss of life, the loss of normalcy, the loss of critical resources that this community has experienced.”
The Augusta area has received less national attention than western North Carolina due to washed out roads and severe flooding. Augusta is still barely functioning. Hurricane Helen scraped the land here with a blunt razor. Leroy Redfield said the damage was more similar to a tornado hit than a hurricane, and described a trail of destruction that makes what’s left behind even more striking.
“If you drive in, you’ll see at least 20 broken utility poles within a mile,” he said. “That means it’s broken in half.” Redfield decided to spend the morning watching to see where the new pole would rise. That’s where the power goes next.
Most residents here have been without power since Friday morning. Tall poplar, oak and cedar trees littered the streets, and some people were unable to leave their homes for days. Every major road is lined with uprooted trees. Trees along downtown Augusta are lying sideways, with 4 inches of concrete ripped straight from the sidewalk.
Nevertheless, as Harris was assessing the damage a few blocks away, Sherman Gartrell threw lemon pepper wings into a kitchen truck next to a fallen tree on Broad Street, and people came to visit. were given free meals. Gartrell said the owner of a Broad Street furniture store paid for him to come from Athens to help.
Broad Street still had electricity, but most places only accepted cash because the internet service outage meant they could no longer process credit cards. Water was coming out. Frankly speaking, most of it was out. Yet, somehow, there was still some buzz on the street. That’s because everything else in the place still seemed to have an air of bankruptcy.
“It shows us that Southerners are still doing the right thing,” said Melanie Lumpkin of Augusta. Wednesday was the first time she was able to go outside her neighborhood, she said. “People are donating and sharing. We were at the store and this guy needed $2 in cash, so everyone in line immediately reached into their wallets. People are sharing gasoline and food and bringing cooked meat to their neighbors.
Mr. Lumpkin has a tree in his attic and two more that are destroying his carport and shed. Augusta’s intense humidity is already causing mold and rot in homes. The water is spotty. Power does not exist. Although she has insurance, Lumpkin said the initial estimate to remove the tree from her home was $60,000.
His son, Will Lumpkin, said it was too early to assess whether the state and federal emergency response was effective. “Augusta is really coming together, but at the same time, we still have a long way to go. “I don’t think we were ready for this. This won’t take months. This will take years. .”
But Mary Katherine Golich said it could have been much worse. “This would have been very different if there had been someone else in the White House,” Golich said. The veteran said he loves Augusta, but before Harris took office, he was considering options overseas given the possibility of Joe Biden losing.
Republican voters were aware of Donald Trump’s recent visit to Georgia. Nevertheless, even if the hurricane changed their lives forever, most voters may be stuck at this point.
“No one has changed,” John Oates said as he took shelter in an Augusta hotel during the power outage. “No one has changed their mind.”
In Augusta, the politics of catastrophe have yet to reveal themselves. But the Lumpkins worry that Augusta’s racist local government will push Augusta to the bottom of the restoration list.
The White House appears to be taking steps to avoid local and regional bailout races.
“From the beginning, the President and I have paid close attention to what we need to do to ensure that federal resources are committed as quickly as possible, including direct support from the federal government. That includes what it takes to deliver,” Harris said. Said.
“We perform best when we work together to coordinate our resources and coordinate our communications for maximum impact.”
People living in any of the counties where the emergency order was issued will be eligible for a $750 Fema payment to offset losses. Advance funds can be used to help with necessities such as food, water, baby formula, and other emergency supplies. Funds may also be available to repair damage to your home or personal property caused by the storm or to help you find a temporary place to stay.
Fema officials go door-to-door to assess people’s needs and assist them with applications, Harris said.
