President Biden, first lady to tour hurricane recovery in Puerto Rico, Florida this week

ORLANDO, Fla. – President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will be in Puerto Rico and Florida this week, touring hurricane-ravaged areas.

The Bidens will tour Puerto Rico on Monday and Florida on Wednesday.

Puerto Rico was hit hard by Hurricane Fiona on Sept. 18, which dropped heavy rain and caused flooding and mudslides. About 129,000 people are still without power, according to PowerOutage.us. It’s believed the storm is linked to the deaths of about 25 people.

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However, Puerto Rico never fully recovered from Hurricane Maria, which hit the island as a Category 4 storm five years earlier.

On Thursday, Biden said that despite the devastation Hurricane Ian has caused in Florida, his administration had not forgotten the people of Puerto Rico, and that he would visit soon. Much of the island is receiving help from FEMA.

Meanwhile, it’s not known yet what parts of Florida the Bidens will tour.

The president has been in contact with many of the mayors in the hardest-hit parts of the state, as well as with Gov. Ron DeSantis. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell has been in the state since the storm passed, touring the disaster areas. She toured Orange County on Saturday.

Biden also approved an expedited major disaster declaration for the state, and 100% direct federal assistance for costs of search and rescue, shelters and other services for 30 days.

Seventeen Florida counties have also been approved for individual FEMA assistance, including Flagler, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole and Volusia counties.

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