President Biden visits South Georgia, assesses damage from Helene firsthand

Caption

President Joe Biden speaks during a South Georgia visit to assess storm damage from Hurricane Helene on Oct. 3, 2024.

Credit: Sarah Kallis / GPB News

President Joe Biden visited South Georgia on Thursday to assess storm damage from Hurricane Helene firsthand in Berrien County.

Biden visited a pecan farm in Ray City, northeast of Valdosta, where trees lay uprooted in an orchard following damage from Helene.

Biden said the federal government will pay for storm debris to be removed and provide assistance to farmers in the coming months — as much as 100% of the cost of debris removal.

"And on top of this, the Department of Agriculture is on the ground supporting ranchers, farmers and small businesses,” Biden said.

The Department of Agriculture is reaching out to farmers to help them access the needed aid.

Buck Paulk manages the pecan farm Biden visited. He said he is grateful the president was able to see the damage firsthand.

“You just have to realize you got to have help," Paulk said. "We're not just going to snap back from this. I mean, it's — this is generational work that's involved, in a perennial crop like pecans.”

Biden said storm recovery across the South will cost billions of dollars.