American President Biden seems very upset. This Wednesday, he accused Donald Trump of having triggered a “ avalanche of lies » on the US federal government’s management of hurricanes Helen and Milton.
After a meeting at the White House on this subject, which is due to land in Florida (south of the country) overnight, the American president deplored the “ irresponsible, dangerous and continued spread of misinformation and outright lies » about the management of these hurricanes.
Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump leads this avalanche of lies “, he castigated. According to him, disinformation “ undermines confidence » populations in relief efforts and “ harms those who need it most ».
Bonus for criticizing Biden
Since the destructive and deadly passage of Hélène in the southeast of the United States, killing at least 235 people, Donald Trump and the Republicans have accused, without proof, the Democrats of having “ stole the money » from the federal natural disaster response agency (Fema) for “ give it to their illegal immigrants ».
American presidential election: when storm Hélène becomes a campaign argument
« It’s ridiculous to say that. It’s wrong », Reacted President Biden. “ There are allegations that houses (damaged, editor’s note) are confiscated, this is simply false. It is said that the victims will only receive $750, no more. This is simply wrong ».
The Democratic leader blasted the assertions “ even weirder » by Trumpist parliamentarian Marjorie Taylor Greene. She ” now says that the federal government completely controls the weather… This is beyond ridiculous. This has to stop “, said Joe Biden.
Kamala Harris in support
Vice President and Democratic candidate in the November 5 election, Kamala Harris, attended the meeting from New York, where she is giving a series of media interviews. Warning those who would be tempted to take advantage of the hurricane to increase the prices of food, fuel or housing, she assured: “ Anyone who cheats consumers will be held responsible ».
For his part, Joe Biden reiterated his calls for caution and evacuation in the face of the arrival of Hurricane Milton, which “ looks like the storm of the century ». « It’s a matter of life and death “, he said, repeating comments made the day before.
In a sign that the situation is potentially critical, the president canceled a trip to Germany and Angola to be in the United States during the passage of Milton, which will make landfall on the west coast of Florida as ” major hurricane » and cross the peninsula from one side to the other.
60 billion damage
Very feared in terms of damage, Hurricane Milton is also logically feared in terms of financial costs. According to analysts at asset managers RBC Capital, the natural disaster could result in $60 billion (€54.71 billion) in insured losses. Such a bill should lead to an increase in reinsurance prices in 2025, likely to drive up the shares of certain groups in the sector, they estimate in an analysis published this Wednesday.
“The market seems to be pricing in an impact similar to that of Hurricane Ian”write the analysts. As a reminder, the latter swept through Florida at the end of September 2022. It alone caused more than 100 billion dollars in damage. And then ranked as the second costliest hurricane in history for the sector, according to the Swiss Re Institute, which provides insurance research.
United States: the bill for Hurricane Milton could amount to 60 billion
Added to this is the fact that the southeast of the United States is barely recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, which passed at the end of September. The American Central Bank (Fed) also warned at the start of the week that its “economic effects (…) could affect the economic outlook of the United States”.
(With AFP)
