Politics

Trump to visit North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Florence's destruction

Key Points
  • Trump will visit the areas affected by the hurricane, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday, though it wasn't immediately clear which specific areas Trump planned to visit.
  • Some North Carolina residents began to return to the towns they had fled in advance of the storm, which had strengthened to a Category 4 storm with wind speeds as high as 140 miles per hour before slowing down by the time it made landfall late last week.
  • The hurricane claimed at least 32 lives, officials said, including 25 in North Carolina. Some measures of the storm's damage are estimated $2.5 billion in total insured losses alone.
Disaster preparedness is an evolving phenomenon, especially with many of the natural disasters occurring throughout the world. Here, a woman is being rescued from the floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence in Lumberton, North Carolina.
Jabin Botsford | The Washington Post | Getty Images

President Donald Trump on Wednesday will travel to North Carolina in the aftermath of the massive flooding and destruction caused by Hurricane Florence.

Trump will visit areas affected by the hurricane, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday, though it wasn't immediately clear which specific spots are on the president's list. Sanders told CNBC that more details would be forthcoming.

Some North Carolina residents have begun to return to the towns they fled in advance of the storm. Florence had strengthened to a Category 4 storm with wind speeds as high as 140 miles per hour before slowing down by the time it made landfall late last week.

But days after the wind and rain had subsided, water levels continued to rise in some areas of the state, putting more homes and lives at risk.

The hurricane has claimed at least 32 lives, officials said, including 25 in North Carolina. Some measures of the storm's damage are estimated at $2.5 billion in total insured losses alone.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Monday that "catastrophic flooding and tornadoes are still claiming lives and property."

Trump has used his Twitter account to focus mainly on the hurricane in recent days, largely avoiding other issues such as special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation and the upcoming midterm elections.

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