Biden visits sites hit hard by Hurricane Helene in Florida, Georgia

Oct. 3 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden issued condolences and promised more aid for victims of Hurricane Helene in visits to Georgia and Florida on Thursday, neither of which were attended by the states' Republican governors.

The president surveyed some of Helene's large-scale devastation a day after similarly assessing hurricane damage in North Carolina and South Carolina. The trips came as the death toll from the storm was revised upwards past 200, making it the fourth-deadliest hurricane ever to make landfall in the United States.

In Florida, Biden took a helicopter tour of the state's Big Bend region where Helene made landfall, viewing scenes of destruction and desolation, later traveling via motorcade to the Keaton Beach area, about 75 miles southeast of Tallahassee, Fla.

As the president arrived there, scenes of destruction including collapsed power lines and demolished homes, came into his view. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack accompanied the president, who was met at the scene by Florida's Republican Sen. Rick Scott .

There they received a briefing on Helene's impact from state and local officials and Federal Emergency and Management Agency leaders. Afterwards, Biden took a walking tour of Keaton Beach, where he met with a husband and wife who lost their home in the storm and were living in their RV.

"This can all be rebuilt," the man told the president.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, however, did not join the group. Instead, he held a press conference in Tallahassee, where he criticized Biden over the longshoreman's strike.

Biden then flew to Moody Air Force Base in Georgia, where he was greeted by Sen. Raphael Warnock , D-Ga., and an array of state and local officials before traveling to Shiloh Pecan Farm in Ray City, Ga., about 220 miles south of Atlanta.

"I see you, I hear you, I agree with you," Biden said to community members asking for help while promising that the federal government would stay until the devastated area is restored.

He also noted the disaster is happening during an election year in key swing states such as North Carolina and Georgia and lamented that is has become a political flashpoint .

"We have to break down this rabid partisanship that exists," Biden said. "There's no rationale for it," he said, warning that rebuilding will take billions of dollars which Congress has an obligation to provide.

Missing from the meeting at the pecan farm was Georgia's Republican governor, Brian Kemp , who will instead appear with GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump during his scheduled visit to the state on Friday.

Hundreds remain missing from the Carolinas, Florida, Georgia Tennessee and Virginia, while thousands of others remain without running water and other necessities in the wake of Helene.

White House officials said Biden carefully planned his trips in a way to not take away any personnel or resources from the rescue and recovery effort.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Biden wanted to make sure he can visit the devastation firsthand "without disrupting the emergency operations. What he does not want to do is impact the rescue that we are providing."

Biden did announce on Wednesday that the Defense Department will call 1,000 active-duty soldiers to help distribute food, water and other supplies.