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‘Some of the flooding is actually epic’: Donald Trump praises FEMA’s response to Hurricane Florence during North Carolina visit

‘Unfortunately, the money will be a lot. But it’s going to come as fast as you need it,’ says Trump; he applauds the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for doing a ‘great job, incredible job’

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US President Donald Trump speaks at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina on Wednesday. Trump arrived in North Carolina to tour areas of the state pummeled by Hurricane Florence. Photo: AFP

US President Donald Trump landed in North Carolina on Thursday to inspect damage from Hurricane Florence, which ravaged the state and neighbouring South Carolina over the weekend with high winds and torrential rain.

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“Some of the flooding is actually epic, it’s hard to believe,” Trump said at a briefing arranged for him at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in Havelock, North Carolina. “Unfortunately, the money will be a lot. But it’s going to come as fast as you need it.”

Trump applauded Brock Long, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for doing a “great job, incredible job” in responding to the hurricane.

US President Donald Trump listens to North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, left, in North Carolina on Wednesday. Photo: AP
US President Donald Trump listens to North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, left, in North Carolina on Wednesday. Photo: AP

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said his state took a “gut punch” from the storm.

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Trump wants to see parts of the states hardest hit by the storm and subsequent flooding, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters aboard Air Force One. He will be briefed by leaders of the two states and then meet people affected by the hurricane, she said.

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