Pallade Veneta - Biden, Harris to visit Hurricane Helene disaster zone

Biden will visit North Carolina, where he will make a helicopter trip over the flood-hit city of Asheville, one of the places worst hit by the storm's deadly rampage through the southeastern United States.

He will also visit a rescue command center in the state, where more than 70 people were killed, and travel to neighboring South Carolina.

Officials say Helene has killed at least 155 people and left up to 600 unaccounted for across several states.

Harris, who replaced Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee for the November 5 election, will travel separately to the southern state of Georgia, which has also been badly hit by the storm.

Deluges triggered by Helene have caused huge devastation in the region of the Appalachian mountains, with towns and villages cut off from the rest of the world.

North Carolina and Georgia are also two of the seven crucial swing states that could decide the result of the election.

Biden said that he had not been able to travel earlier because rescue workers said his visit would have affected operations on the ground. He will also travel to Florida and Georgia in the coming days, the White House said.

"My top priority is to ensure the communities devastated by this hurricane get the help and support they need as quickly as possible," Biden told reporters Tuesday.

- 'He's lying' -

Republican former president Trump has however sought to make political capital out of the disaster, accusing the US government, without evidence, of ignoring the crisis and denying help to his supporters.

He also criticized Biden and Harris for being out of Washington over the weekend after the hurricane hit. He accused Biden of "sleeping" at his beach home in Delaware while Harris was at campaign fundraisers on the US West Coast.

Trump meanwhile made his way to the disaster zone on Monday, visiting the stricken town of Valdosta in Georgia. He vowed to "bring lots of relief material, including fuel, equipment, water, and other things."

Biden accused Trump of spreading lies on Monday.

"He's lying," Biden told reporters in the Oval Office, adding that he had spoken to North Carolina governor Ray Cooper "and he told him he's lying. I don't know why he does it... that's simply not true, and it's irresponsible."

The political storm over Helene comes as Biden and Harris weather a series of crises with just over a month until the knife-edge US presidential election.

As they are coordinating the hurricane relief efforts, Biden and Harris are also dealing with Iranian missile attacks on Israel that have further fueled tensions in the Middle East.

The White House is also trying to resolve a strike by US dockworkers that threatens the economy -- with the three crises giving rise to talk of a feared "October surprise" that could influence the election.

F.Dodaro--PV