Mayor Garnett Johnson hosted senior presidential adviser Tom Perez, director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, on a tour of Augusta storm recovery efforts Wednesday.
Thirty-four days since the impact of Hurricane Helene, contractors have removed some 626,000 cubic yards of storm debris, Johnson said. FEMA has poured millions of dollars of relief in the form of cash and basic necessities to residents, but much more work remains to be done and the debris load is expected to more than double, the mayor said.
Perez, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, thanked Johnson for being a “spectacular partner” after a tour that included a stop at the disaster recovery center at the Hub for Community Innovation and meetings with community members.
“For me, it was simultaneously a sobering visit and an inspiring visit,” Perez said. “Mother Nature really dealt a cruel hand to the residents of Richmond County, but sometimes when things are at their worst you see communities at their best, and that’s what I observed this morning,” he said.
“We call it the 100 year storm but as our climate change imperative illustrates, we don’t know if it will be 100 years or 10 years or two years between now and the next big weather event,” Perez said.
Despite next week’s presidential election that could flip the playing field, Perez emphasized the bipartisan nature of the recovery effort, one the administration has termed “resilient recovery” with long-lasting impacts.
“This is not a moment about Democrats, Republicans and Independents. This is a moment about helping everyone, about neighbor helping neighbor, and that is what Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have done,” he said.
The amount of debris removed is already equal to more than 6,000 football fields and is expected to become up to 15,000 football fields’ worth of debris, he said.
FEMA has signed up more than 345,000 residents for assistance and provided $182 million in aid, with more sure to come, he said. FEMA has shipped more than 11 million meals and almost 10 million liters of water.
The agency has pledged to cover 100% of the local government’s recovery effort, at least during the first 90 days, he said.
The administration and FEMA will be here until recovery is complete, he said.
“While I’m here today to survey the progress, we are going to have your back. The Biden administration is going to be here as long as necessary to get the job done,” Perez said.
