I know you are hurt, Biden told the storm-ravaged Louisiana State-News

The huge tree was knocked to the side. The house was sealed with plywood. Outdated street signs.

Less than a week after Hurricane Ida hit the Gulf Coast, President Joe Biden walked on a street in a hard-hit area in Louisiana on Friday and told local residents, “I know you are hurting, and I know you are hurting.”

Biden promised to provide strong federal assistance to get people to stand up again, and said that the government has distributed $100 million directly to individuals in the state through a check of $500, providing them with the first batch of critical assistance. He said that many people don’t know what help they can get because they don’t have access to mobile phone services.

The residents welcomed Biden’s arrival, and one of them drew a sign with his surname and a heart on the “i”. They smiled and posed for selfies.

More formally, Biden met with state and local officials in Laplace, a community between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. It suffered severe wind and water damage and the roof was cut off. , The houses were flooded.

“I promise we will support you,” Biden said.

He also plans to take flyover tours in the hardest-hit areas such as Lafitte, Grand Island, Port Forchon and La Forche Parish. The president of the parish Archie Chaisson said that 25% of his 100,000 communities have houses. Has disappeared or suffered catastrophic damage.

Even as Air Force One approached New Orleans, the damage was obvious, with uprooted trees and the blue tarps covering the ruined house coming into view. The road to Laplace shows electric wooden poles protruding from the ground at strange angles.

For a long time, visiting the scene of natural disasters in person has always been a characteristic of the President of the United States. It is a time to show sympathy and public leadership during a crisis. They also have the opportunity to be suspended from the political snipers that often dominate Washington, whether temporarily.

Biden, dressed in shirt sleeves and boots, was welcomed at the airport by the Democratic governor of Louisiana, John Bell Edwards. Several Republicans, including Senator Bill Cassidy and House Republican whip Steve Scalis, were also present.

Edwards said Biden was “a great partner” and added that he intends to continue to seek help until the president refuses.

After Ida, Biden renewed his attention to the threat of climate change and the prospect of visiting disaster areas that may become a more routine feature of the presidency. The storm has killed 13 people in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, and at least 48 people in the northeastern United States.

The President pointed out that this destruction is to call on the public to have greater determination to deal with climate change. His $1 trillion in infrastructure legislation is designed to ensure that vital networks that connect cities and states and the entire country can withstand floods, cyclones, and destruction caused by increasingly dangerous weather.

At a briefing held with local officials on Friday, Biden insisted on passing the infrastructure bill, followed by broader measures to prepare the country.

Biden said: “In my opinion, if we rebuild, rebuild it in a better way, we can save our voters a lot of money and save our voters a lot of pain.” “I realize I am selling.”

Part of Biden’s nearly eight-month presidency has been shaped by permanent crises. After a cold winter storm caused the state’s power grid to fail, the president traveled to Texas in February and paid close attention to wildfires in the western states.

Ada is the fifth largest storm to hit Louisiana in the United States on Sunday. The maximum wind speed is 240 kilometers per hour, which can cause tens of billions of dollars in floods, wind and other losses, including damage to the power grid. On Wednesday, the remnants of the storm brought devastating rainfall to parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, causing severe damage to major cities.