(Image via msn.com. Milton strengthens into a hurricane on a path to Florida as the region reels from Helene’s devastation.)

Business Manager: Brendan Flaherty

Email: bflaherty1@umassd.edu

Hurricane Helene was a devastating blow to the people of the southeastern coast. Affecting a great many people in that area and causing much pain.

The people of Florida are currently dealing with the remains of their state after much was lost during the category four hurricane dubbed “Helene.”

People are rummaging through the destroyed remains of their former homes and places they once knew. Power is down in most areas, people are missing, infrastructure is destroyed, and hundreds of roads are closed.

According to the List of Florida hurricanes, there have been “Approximately 500 tropical and subtropical cyclones” that have affected the state of Florida.

With this in mind, there are also many areas surrounding the state of Florida that are also experiencing issues. In the state of North Carolina, “an untold number of people are still missing,” according to The New York Times on MSN.

To deal with this, President Biden has addressed the state of the matter by increasing relief efforts for the people affected by the tragedy.

He also called for people to “put aside ‘rabid partisanship’ to get people relief,” according to an article from MSN.

This is an interesting push from the president as the electron gets closer and closer, but this is something that the people of Florida need. People are finally willing to overlook their political stances and opinions to unite and rebuild.

It’s unfortunate that it takes a tragic event like a hurricane to come through for people to finally work together towards a larger goal.

Although the two Republican representatives from both Georgia and Florida didn’t visit Biden during his tour of the two devastated states, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and President Biden had a conversation over the phone later in the day.

Although it could be seen that the president was going through the states to show force and to maybe gain some favor with the people there, it can be assured that the real meaning was to bring immediate and effective support for the people.

It was noted that President Biden signed off on “the federal government to fully cover the state and local costs of debris removal, search and rescue efforts, mass-feeding and other hurricane-related emergency response activities.” as mentioned in an MSN article.

It was estimated that “Tens of thousands of homes in Florida were destroyed,” as taken from CNN, as well as an estimated $50 million in damages.

One area in particular that Biden is focusing his efforts on is the quick reestablishing of the farms in the areas that were affected, as most of the land in the southeast is dominated by agricultural farms.

Some of the other impacts of the hurricane are surrounded by the question of how some businesses will be able to continue to operate after the destruction.

For example, based on an article from Forbes, North Carolina “…manufactures 60% of IV fluids used by healthcare institutions throughout the United States.”

This has unforeseen problems, as many people across the U.S. rely on the production rates to stay in the market and stay as available as possible. This, in turn, will negatively impact many ambulances, hospitals, and patients who rely on IVs.

This is all without thinking about the immediate issue of people in the affected states possibly needing medical equipment as soon as possible.

Due to the shortage and the slowing of production, rationing of IVs has come into effect until the state can get back on its feet and begin production as usual.

Not only has all this negatively affected the people of the state, but there is also the chance that more hurricanes might come through the area again.

As awful as this event has been, it has shown that this country has the ability to come together to ensure that everyone can work together, regardless of political alignment or for any other reason.

Damages might’ve ravaged the states, but the country can and will come back from this if it is to prosper. It is not only right, but it is expected of the president to work to resolve these problems as soon as possible so that the people can get back to a sense of normality.