Joe Biden is going to Florida on Wednesday, October 5, where Hurricane Ian has sown death and devastation, with the firm intention of temporarily setting aside political divisions, in this state led by one of his fiercest opponents.
The American president and his wife Jill Biden are due to arrive around 6:45 p.m. GMT in Fort Myers, in the southwest of the state, where the hurricane made landfall and wreaked the most havoc.
The presidential couple will be able to realize this during a helicopter flight, before meeting local political leaders, then disaster-stricken residents, as relief operations continue and a very long reconstruction process begins. .
The US president is then due to deliver a speech at 9:15 p.m. GMT.
An official death toll of 76
Hit last Wednesday by Ian, a category 4 hurricane, Florida is still counting its dead and assessing the considerable damage caused by one of the most violent storms in recent American history.
The official death toll was 76 on Tuesday (72 in Florida and 4 in North Carolina) but the American media counted more than a hundred deaths, while rescuers are still at work in neighborhoods overwhelmed by water.
Hundreds of thousands of Florida residents were still without power on Tuesday and authorities said it would take months and $50 billion or more to rebuild the devastated coastal areas.