Biden tours hurricane-ravaged Florida, announces $612M in resiliency projects for state
The president is touring areas damaged by Helene and Milton.
President Joe Biden on Sunday toured areas of Florida ravaged by the back-to-back hurricanes and announced federal funding for projects to strengthen the electrical grid and a "whole government" effort to help the state recover.
We've been in frequent contact, and it’s in moments like this, we come together to take care of each other -- not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans. Americans, who need help, and Americans who help you, if you were in the same situation," Biden said in St. Petersburg. "We are one, United States."
Biden also announced $612 million for six Department of Energy projects in the Southeast.
Two of the projects are focused in Florida and provide a combined $94M in federal funds, according to the White House.
"This funding will not only restore power, but will make the region's power system stronger and more capable and reduce the frequency and duration of power outages while extreme weather events become more frequent," Biden said.
Gainesville Regional Utilities will use the funding to help mitigate the effects of increasingly extreme weather in north central Florida, "through storm hardening, as well as faster restoration through deployment of self-healing devices and tools that will enable more efficient and precise dispatching of field teams during outages," the White House said in a statement.
Switched Source, a private utility technology developer, will work with Florida Power and Light to deploy Phase-EQ, which "optimizes power flow in distribution circuits, will unlock over 200 MW of system capacity, and improve reliability on circuits serving communities that are most susceptible to prolonged outages," according to the White House.
"These investments are part of the president’s commitment to making long-term investments that protect, enhance, and upgrade our nation’s electric grid, especially in the face of extreme weather events," the White House said in a statement.
Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday evening. At least 16 people were killed in the storm and over a million remain without power.
On Sunday, Biden thanked local officials for their response, pointing out that several had homes damaged or flooded in the storms, and recognized first responders who had flooded into the region in the days following Milton.
"Go look at the numbers that showed up from around the country -- Canada, California, Nebraska, all over the country -- to come here to help. Men and women in uniform, as I said, health care personnel, neighbors helping neighbors and so many more people," Biden said. "This is all a team effort, folks. It made a big difference, and it saved lives. But there's much more to do."