Secretary Mayorkas Delivers Remarks at White House Press Briefing

Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas virtually delivered the following remarks at the White House Press Briefing in Washington, DC.

I am currently joining you from North Carolina, where I have been meeting with our extraordinary FEMA personnel, and federal, state, and local partners, on the ground about Hurricane Helene's devastating impact and the progress we are making in our work to help North Carolina communities and aid in their recovery.

Before I share an update on the situation here in North Carolina, I'll provide you an update on Hurricane Milton, which last night made landfall as a Category 3 storm near Siesta Key, Florida, following a day of heavy rain and at least 27 tornado touchdowns. Our hearts break for the Floridians who have lost so much.

I was briefed earlier by FEMA Administrator Criswell, who is on the ground in Florida, as Karine noted, along with more than 1,000 FEMA personnel. There is significant water and wind damage across central Florida: As of this morning, over three million customers are without power, structures have been severely damaged or collapsed, and tragically, we know that lives have been lost. We are praying for them and their loved ones. Right now, search and rescue is our highest priority, and we are also praying for those who are unaccounted for and for their safe return.

It is very significant that many followed local guidance and evacuated ahead of landfall - we cannot minimize the impact of that. It is imperative that everyone continues to follow the direction of local officials. Milton may have passed, but the danger it poses has not. Downed power lines, flood waters, non-potable drinking water, and debris are creating deadly conditions. Keep listening to local officials and shelter in place until it is safe, if told to do so. Only use generators when and where it is safe to do so. People can find more tips on staying safe after a storm on the FEMA app or by visiting Ready.gov.

In the lead up to Milton, our Administration made robust preparations for the storm. President Biden approved emergency declarations for the state of Florida and for the Seminole Tribe of Florida days before the storm made landfall, to provide full federal support for the response. We prepositioned supplies, including food and water; 20 helicopters; 60 Department of Defense High Water Vehicles with ladders; 1,300 U.S. Coast Guard personnel; and 1,400 urban search-and-rescue team members across Florida in anticipation of the storm, and staged hundreds of ambulances to assist in the transport of hospitalized patients. Today, FEMA is joining the State to begin damage assessments to ensure Floridians have what they need. FEMA and our federal partners, including the Department of Defense and the United States Coast Guard, are already working closely to support the State of Florida in a comprehensive, coordinated response to this storm.

To reiterate President Biden's message yesterday: every available resource is being deployed as fast as possible to impacted communities, and we will not leave until the work is done.

The same is true for communities devastated by Hurricane Helene, including here in North Carolina. President Biden and Vice President Harris were here last week, as was I, and we will continue to support impacted communities and first responders on the ground.

More than 10,000 federal staff are on the ground supporting Helene and Milton response efforts across the southeast. Since Helene first made landfall, urban search and rescue teams have rescued over 4,300 people. From a peak of 5.1 million customers without power, we have helped restore power for more than 5 million of them, and we are restoring more every day.

We have helped quickly restore cell phone service across the region - at its peak, 3.4 million customers without service; we have restored service now to more than 3.2 million of them. We have delivered more than 17.2 million meals and more than 13.9 million liters of water. We have helped get over $350 million in assistance out to Helene survivors, with millions more going out every day. All this, and much more.

These first responders, and their state and local partners, are doing truly heroic work in extremely difficult circumstances. We are all immensely grateful for their extraordinary, selfless service.

The weeks since Hurricane Helene first made landfall have been devastating and difficult, but I want to be clear: we have the capability and the capacity to respond to and recover from multiple simultaneous disasters. No resources needed for Hurricane Helene response will be diverted to respond to Hurricane Milton. We have made it clear, we will be there for every impacted community, every step of the way.

Thank you.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.