When Kamala Harris landed in Augusta on Wednesday, she encountered a city reflecting on how much of its life had been devastated by Hurricane Helene.

“I'm here to take a personal look at the devastation,” Harris said after receiving a briefing from emergency responders in Georgia. “It is particularly devastating given the loss of life this community has suffered, the loss of normalcy and the loss of critical resources.”

The Augusta region, with its washed out roads and severe flooding, hasn't quite garnered the national attention that western North Carolina has. Augusta is still somewhat functional. Hurricane Helene shaved the land here with a dull razor. The damage is more like a tornado attack than a hurricane, Leroy Redfield said, describing sites of destruction that make what survived all the more remarkable.

“If you drive in, you'll see at least 20 broken utility poles within a mile,” he said. “I mean, broken in half.” Redfield has made it his mission to observe in the mornings where new masts are going up; This is where the electricity flows next.

Most people here have been without power since Friday morning. Some were unable to leave their homes for days as tall cottonwoods, live oaks and cedars littered the streets. Uprooted trees line every main street. Trees along Augusta's downtown strip lay on their sides and were torn from the sidewalk, straight through four inches of concrete.

And yet, just as Harris was giving her assessment of the damage a few blocks away, Sherman Gartrell was tossing lemon pepper wings into a food truck next to a fallen tree on Broad Street and feeding them for free to people who came. A furniture store owner on Broad Street arranged for him to come from Athens and help him, Gartrell said.

There was still power on Broad Street, although most places could only accept cash because internet outages had rendered credit card processing useless. Water was out. Honestly, most things were outside. And yet somehow there was still a bit of hustle and bustle on the street, because everywhere else everything still seemed to taste a little like bankruptcy.

“We found that people in the South are still doing the right thing,” said Melanie Lumpkin of Augusta. She said she was able to venture out of her neighborhood for the first time on Wednesday. “People give, you know, share. We were at a store and the guy needed $2 in cash and every single person in line immediately grabbed their wallet. People share gas and food and bring cooked meat to their neighbors.”

Lumpkin has a tree that visits her attic and two others that have destroyed her carport and shed. The aggressive humidity in Augusta has already led to mold and rot in the house. water is stained; Power is not there. She has insurance, but the initial estimate for removing the trees from her home was $60,000, Lumpkin said.

It's too early to judge whether state and federal emergency measures have been effective, said her son, Will Lumpkin. “Augusta is really coming together, but at the same time there is still a long way to go. “I don’t think we were prepared. This won't take months. It will take years.”

But Mary Katherine Gorlich said it could have been much worse. “It would have been completely different with someone else in the White House,” Gorlich said. The Army veteran said she loves Augusta but is considering her options abroad after losing to Joe Biden before Harris' ascension.

Republican voters were aware that Donald Trump had recently visited Georgia. Nonetheless, most voters may be stuck at this point, even if a hurricane changes their lives.

“Nobody changes,” John Oates said, taking refuge in an Augusta hotel as the power went out. “No one changes their mind.”

The politics of disaster have yet to emerge in Augusta. But the Lumpkins fear Augusta's racially contentious local government will end up relegating Augusta to the bottom of the repair list.

The White House appears to be taking some steps to discourage local and regional competition for aid.

“From the outset, the President and I have paid close attention to what we need to do to ensure that federal funding is available as quickly as possible, and that includes what is necessary to ensure that we provide direct federal assistance.” Harris said.

“We are at our best when we collaborate, coordinate resources, and coordinate our communications for maximum impact.”

Individuals living in one of the counties subject to an emergency order are eligible to receive a $750 Fema payment to offset losses. Advance funds can be used for essential items such as food, water, baby formula and other emergency supplies. Funds may also be available to repair storm-related damage to homes and personal property and to assist in finding temporary housing.

Fema staff went door-to-door to assess people's needs and help them apply, Harris said.