President Donald Trump visited Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., Wednesday and surveyed ongoing recovery efforts and lingering damage from Hurricane Michael, which struck the installation last October, Air Force Times reported.
The hurricane’s impact included damage to nearly all 700 structures on the base, roughly one-third were destroyed, and 11,000 base personnel were evacuated, according administration figures.
After touring the base, Trump promised officials that it will be rebuilt “better than ever.”
The area around Tyndall has received about $1.1 billion in federal disaster aid through mid-April, but the region still struggles to fully recover from the storm.
At a campaign event later in nearby Panama City, the president announced that additional Housing and Urban Development recovery funds would be available for local communities impacted by the hurricane, and that the federal government would pay 90 percent of the costs “in many circumstances.”
The recovery effort at Tyndall has been stalled by disputes over of a disaster aid package that has been at an impasse among the administration, the GOP-led Senate and House Democrats, as ADC has reported.
On May 1 all new recovery work at Tyndall was halted, deferring 121 projects until millions more in needed funding is authorized.
Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Monica Roybal