Biden sees Hurricane Ida damage as storm leaves 61 dead

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana -- President Joe Biden traveled to New Orleans Friday to survey damage caused by Hurricane Ida, meet with local leaders and demonstrate the federal response to the storm that made landfall in Louisiana before devastating much of the northeastern United States.

"We came because we want to hear directly from you all, what specific problems you've been dealing with," Biden told local officials in hard-hit LaPlace, just outside New Orleans.

In LaPlace, local officials spoke with the president about the destruction in the region and the long-term impact the storm would have in the area.

Biden told the officials -- including Gov. John Bel Edwards, the CEOs of local hospitals and the energy company Entergy, members of Congress and local parish presidents -- that he thought it was important to rebuild damaged infrastructure in a more resilient manner, whether it meant placing power lines underground or making roofs stronger.

"This storm has been incredible, not only here but all the way up the East Coast," Biden said.

Air Force One touched down in New Orleans early Friday afternoon, where the president was greeted by federal, state and local officials from Louisiana: Edwards, U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy, U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng.

Biden then took a helicopter over storm-damaged homes to LaPlace, where in addition to the briefing from local leaders, he toured a neighborhood and made remarks.

He then took an aerial tour of particularly battered communities in the area, including Lafitte, Grand Isle, Port Fourchon and Lafourche Parish, according to the White House.

Later, he traveled to Galliano, south of New Orleans, to meet with local leaders there.

The White House has sought to project a strong federal response to the storm as the president suffers from public disapproval of his handling of another recent crisis, the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

During his remarks, Biden told those in the Gulf region that "we're all in this together."

"The nation is here to help," he said.

Ida and its remnants have left at least 61 people dead in eight states, including 48 in the Northeast.