WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump criticized the Biden administration’s response to the widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Helene, while his supporters are calling for cuts to federal agencies that warn of weather disasters and provide aid to hard-hit communities.

As president, Trump has delayed disaster relief for hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico and diverted money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fund an effort to return undocumented migrants to Mexico. And Project 2025, backed by Trump supporters, would restructure FEMA to limit aid to states and says the National Weather Service, which provides crucial data on hurricanes and other storms, “should be broken up and downsized.”

Trump claimed Monday without evidence that the Biden administration and North Carolina’s Democratic governor “went out of their way not to help people in Republican areas.”

Biden has approved major disaster declarations for Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina, giving survivors access to funds and resources to immediately kick-start their recovery. FEMA and other federal agencies, along with private companies and nonprofits and faith-based organizations, are responding to the disaster in at least seven states: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Virginia.

“Each of these states are at different stages in their response and recovery efforts. However, all states are addressing impacts, including impassable roads, disruptions to communications and water systems, and power outages,” FEMA said in a statement.

Trump also suggested Monday that Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp had failed to contact Biden about help. But Kemp told reporters that he had spoken with Biden the day before and that the president said to “call him directly” if the state has additional needs. “I appreciate that,” Kemp said.

The death toll from the storm exceeded 100 people, with some of the worst damage caused by inland flooding in western North Carolina. Buncombe County, where the city of Asheville is located, reported 35 deaths from the storm on Monday.

Natural disasters are not only humanitarian crises, but can also pose a political test for elected officials. North Carolina and Georgia, two of the states hit by the storm, are key battlegrounds in the November presidential election between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Harris said in a statement that she and Biden are working with local leaders in the Southeast to provide support as they face the impact of Hurricane Helene and begin to recover. More than 1,500 federal personnel have been deployed, including power restoration and search and rescue teams, she said.

“Listen to local officials and stay safe,” Harris said. “We will guide you every step of the way.”

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell called the North Carolina flooding “historic” and said the storm caused significant infrastructure damage to water systems, communications, roads and critical transportation routes in multiple states, complicating recovery efforts.

“I don’t know that anyone can be fully prepared for the amount of flooding and landslides that they’re experiencing right now,” Criswell said on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday. She visited several areas in Georgia and was in North America on Sunday. Caroline on Monday.

Officials have sent bottled water to affected states and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is exploring ways to get water systems back online quickly, Criswell said. Officials are also setting up satellite communications to deal with downed cell towers and the lack of telephone service.

During Trump’s term as president, he visited numerous disaster areas, including the aftermath of hurricanes, tornadoes and shootings. But the trips sometimes sparked controversy, such as when he threw paper towels at cheering Puerto Rico residents in 2017 in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

It wasn’t until years later, just weeks before the 2020 presidential election, that Trump’s administration released $13 billion in aid for the area. A federal government watchdog found officials obstructed an investigation into aid delays.

Democrats in Congress also criticized Trump for transferring $155 million from FEMA’s operating budget to fund operations to return migrants to Mexico. FEMA officials said at the time that the transfer would not impact emergency response, but organizations representing emergency planners criticized the move.

Trump also insisted that Alabama, along with the Carolinas and Georgia, would be hit “harder than expected” by Hurricane Dorian in 2019. Trump showed a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration map that had been modified with a black Sharpie marker to extend the hurricane’s projected path. Involving Alabama.

FEMA uses its disaster relief fund to coordinate the federal response to major disasters. It pays for debris removal, repairs to public infrastructure and financial assistance for survivors, among other things. The temporary spending bill passed and signed last week pumped about $20 billion into the fund and gave FEMA the ability to spend that money more quickly.

That should help the agency respond to its most immediate needs, but lawmakers from both parties acknowledge that additional funding will be needed in the coming months. Lawmakers are expected to return to Washington soon after the November election and negotiate a full-year spending bill, with many lawmakers seeking billions of dollars for the disaster relief fund.

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Associated Press writers Stephen Groves and Kevin Freking in Washington and Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this story.