Harris hands out meals, consoles families as she surveys Hurricane Helene devastation in Georgia

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris handed out meals, embraced a shaken family and surveyed Hurricane Helene’s “extraordinary” path of destruction through Georgia on Wednesday as she left the campaign trail to pledge federal help and personally take in scenes of toppled trees, damaged homes and lives upended.

She visited Augusta, where power lines stretched along the sidewalk and utility poles lay cracked and broken. The vice president spoke from a lectern erected in front of a house with a fallen tree teetering on its roof, acknowledging those who had died in the disaster while also trying to project a tone of unity and hope for communities now facing long and expensive rebuilds.

Harris and President Joe Biden, who visited the Carolinas on Wednesday, were seeking to demonstrate commitment and competence in helping devastated communities after Republican former President Donald Trump’s false claims about their administration’s response.

Harris said she wanted to “personally take a look at the devastation, which is extraordinary.” She expressed admiration for how "people are coming together. People are helping perfect strangers.”