(NewsNation) — Vice President Kamala Harris gave an update on the damage from Hurricane Helene in Augusta, Georgia after touring the area affected by the storm.

Harris thanked volunteers who have arrived to help the community and said that along with President Joe Biden, she is committed to making sure federal resources are available to help in the recovery effort.

She noted that people can apply to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for $750 to meet immediate needs like food and baby formula. The vice president also announced that Biden granted the governor’s request for 100% federal reimbursement of local costs for disaster recovery.

“I think that in these moments of hardship, one of the most beautiful parts about our country is that people really rally together and show who we are,” she said.

After making landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, Helene rapidly weakened to a tropical storm as it traveled through the Southeast. Heavy winds and rain still left behind a swath of destruction in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia.

Millions of people were left without water or power across multiple states with emergency responders deployed to help in hard-hit areas. Residents have waited hours in line for water in affected areas.

Harris comes a few days after former President Donald Trump visited Valdosta, Georgia, also hit by the storm. She is also set to visit North Carolina, which was especially hard hit, on Thursday.

Biden is taking an aerial tour of the Carolinas on Wednesday to survey the damage and is expected to visit Georgia and Florida in the coming days.

There have been more than 160 storm-related deaths so far, 25 of those from Georgia, and many more people are in need of food and water following Helene. The speed and quality of federal assistance could become an issue in the November election, especially in critical swing states like Georgia.

On his visit, Trump suggested without evidence Democrats were withholding aid from Republican areas and accused Biden of “sleeping” and not responding to calls from Gov. Brian Kemp, R-Ga. However, Kemp had spoken with Biden the previous day, and the governor said the state was getting everything it needed.

Biden was infuriated by Trump’s claim, saying Trump was “lying, and the governor told him he was lying.”

As for Harris, she said the reason she has not visited the disaster areas before now was because she did not want to get in the way of first responders and urgently needed aid.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.