Photo courtesy of AP News

Hurricane Helene has carved a path of destruction through many parts of the Southern United States. Unsurprisingly, the public conversation has turned political, with candidates vying for advantages in the upcoming presidential election. 

As of Oct. 14, Hurricane Helene’s estimated death toll has surpassed 230. The turmoil caused by this destructive storm has created a need for a federal response. The federal government’s actions have drawn criticism from former President Donald Trump and his campaign.

“They have left Americans to drown in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and elsewhere in the South,” Trump said in a post on X.

Although Trump pointed out that the Biden administration has been failing to respond to the hurricane, President Biden has refuted the claims. Biden stated that he and his administration are doing all they can to help and accused Trump of lying.

“I don’t care about what he says about me, but I care what he communicates to the people in need. He implies that we’re not doing everything possible,” Biden said.

Trump’s vice-presidential nominee JD Vance also criticized the Biden administration — in particular Vice President Harris. He criticized Harris by connecting the Hurricane relief effort to the migrant crisis.

“She fought very hard to make sure that COVID relief money went to illegal aliens to the tune of $1,000 per person, and she shows up — to survey the storm damage — a couple of days ago and she said says that ‘we’re going to give $750 to the people suffering from these devastating storms,’” Vance said.

Harris claimed that these kinds of remarks were immoral and made the crisis pointlessly political. She also claimed the accusations coming from the Trump administration were false.

“The reality is that FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) has so many resources that are available to folks who desperately need them,” Harris said.

Beyond the back and forth between the presidential candidates, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has also come under fire. DeSantis allegedly ignored Biden and Harris’ phone calls concerning the relief effort, according to a White House spokesperson.

“It is selfish, and it is about political gamesmanship instead of doing the job you took an oath to do,” Harris said.

DeSantis denied that any of that happened. He claimed that he was unaware that they called. DeSantis also avoided making any political remarks about the Biden administration.

“We got the approvals that we need. If there’s something else that we need, you know I’ll hop on the phone very quickly, whether that’s the FEMA administrator or the president,” DeSantis said.

Trump has been visiting many towns affected by the hurricane. Trump has claimed that he is trying to work with Elon Musk to get Starlink, a type of satellite internet, in affected areas.

“We’re trying to get Starlink in there as soon as possible because they have no communication throughout the region,” Trump said.

Biden and Harris also visited to survey the damages and have made pledges to help the people affected by the storms.

Hurricane Helene has been extraordinarily devastating and many still worry about the prospects of the regions that have been affected. One reason for the worry is that a new storm, Hurricane Milton, hit Florida on Oct. 9.

The political implications of Hurricane Helene could have a profound effect on the election. It is unclear if Hurricane Milton will have similar political consequences.