PERRY, Fla. — President Joe Biden is in Florida on Thursday to survey the damage and meet with victims in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
Biden and Air Force One landed in Tallahassee at 11:15 a.m.
The president is scheduled to take an aerial tour of affected areas en route to Perry, Florida.
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Biden received a briefing in Keaton Beach from John Louk, the director of emergency management in Taylor County, on the damage. U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., was also on hand.
During his trip to storm-affected areas, Biden is also scheduled to visit Valdosta, Georgia, on Thursday afternoon before returning to Washington.
The president's visit to Florida and Georgia comes a day after he toured damage in hard-hit western North Carolina. Vice President Kamala Harris was in Augusta, Georgia, on Wednesday where she spoke with survivors, state and local officials and first responders.
Gov. Ron DeSantis is not expected to meet with the president. The governor hosted a news conference in Manatee County while Biden will be in North Florida.
Florida officials said they were turning to "low-risk" state prisoners to help clear the mountains of debris left behind.
"Department of Corrections, they do prison labor anyways. So they're bringing them to do debris removal," DeSantis told reporters on Wednesday.
It was confirmed Thursday that 200 people across six states have died from Helene after it came ashore on Florida's Big Bend late last week, carving a path of destruction through the South.
