500 more active-duty troops to aid Hurricane Helene relief efforts

Another 500 active-duty troops are headed to North Carolina to help with Hurricane Helene recovery efforts, after state officials requested more high-tech equipment and trained personnel to help with ongoing search and assistance efforts there.

The move, announced by the White House on Sunday, brings the total number of Defense Department personnel deployed to the southeast United States for hurricane response to 7,600 troops, from 18 different states. But a pair of North Carolina lawmakers said the work may require even more military intervention.

On Friday, North Carolina Republican Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd in a statement praised the National Guard and active-duty efforts so far, but asked for the White House to consider appointing “an active-duty military leader who has extensive experience with operations of this magnitude to lead moving forward.”

The pair cited “the unprecedented extent of the devastation and complexity of search and rescue operations” as the reason for bringing in additional military leadership.

Such a move occurred in 2005, following the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in Gulf Coast states. White House officials named Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré as commander of a joint task force coordinating recovery efforts.

Nearly 1,400 Americans were killed during that natural disaster, and the military response topped more than 50,000 guard and active-duty troops.

Helene is the deadliest hurricane to hit the mainland U.S. since Katrina. On Sunday, the Associated Press reported that the death toll from Hurricane Helene has reached 227, with the discovery of two more bodies in South Carolina. About half of those deaths were in North Carolina.

On Monday, White House officials announced that Federal Emergency Management Administration head Deanne Criswell will continue to lead the Hurriance Helene response efforts, but is coordinating closely with Department of Defense Assistant Secretary Rebecca Zimmerman and U.S. Northern Command head Gen. Gregory Guillot.

Pentagon press secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has established 12 emergency operations centers across the southeast, including three in North Carolina alone. The corps also has emergency power teams conducting water system assessments, bridge and road inspections, and debris removal efforts throughout the region.

“The Department of Defense will continue to stay fully engaged with FEMA and the whole-of-government relief efforts related to Hurricane Helene, providing capabilities that best support needs on the ground,” he said.

Hurricane Milton has formed in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to hit Florida in coming days. If the storm’s path takes it over regions still reeling from Hurricane Helene, officials warned, the follow-on damage could severely complicate recovery efforts.