Trump plans to visit storm-ravaged Georgia

Former President Donald Trump will survey the damage from Hurricane Helene in Valdosta on Monday as officials work to recover power and repair damage to one of the hardest hit parts of the state.

The Republican is one of several politicians to visit the south central Georgia city after the storm brought lashing winds and catastrophic flooding to the region, leaving more than a dozen people dead in Georgia. Gov. Brian Kemp and U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff both traveled to Valdosta on Saturday to tour the hurricane’s path of devastation and help coordinate emergency response efforts.

Trump’s campaign said he will receive a briefing on the damage, help facilitate the distribution of relief supplies and deliver remarks at 2 p.m.

Kemp and Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock both plan separate visits on Monday to Augusta, where there’s also extensive storm damage, and President Joe Biden said he will visit the region this week as long as it does not disrupt rescue and recovery operations. On Sunday, Biden spoke with Kemp and the governor of North Carolina, where the death toll is expected to rise.

Trump is locked in a tight election with Vice President Kamala Harris in Georgia. He held his first campaign event in the state in nearly two months with a rally last week in Savannah and watched a part of the Georgia-Alabama game on Saturday in Tuscaloosa.

At least 17 deaths in Georgia have been attributed to the storm, Kemp confirmed during a Saturday stop in Valdosta to tour the damage. He likened Helene to a “250-mile tornado hit” and said after surveying the destruction that it looked as if a bomb had gone off.

“This storm spared no one,” Kemp said.

Atlanta received an “unprecedented” 11.12 inches of rainfall in a 48-hour period between Wednesday and Friday, breaking the previous record of 9.59 inches set in 1886, said Bill Murphey, Georgia’s state climatologist.

Valdosta State University, like much of Lowndes County, has been without power. Several buildings sustained roof damage. Many trees have fallen on campus. Debris is widespread.

The school told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution it has canceled in-person classes this week. It hopes to conduct virtual instruction on Wednesday if the electricity is restored.

“The damage we have sustained is extensive, seemingly more than Hurricane Idalia a year ago,” university President Richard Carvajal said in a statement. “Thankfully, we have been here before, and we know how resilient our campus community is. Our team is working hard to do what is necessary to restore our campus and resume classes soon.”