Biden, 81, insists 'I was commanding' when asked why he wasn't at the White House as Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc across the U.S.

President Joe Biden said he expects to visit the areas devastated by Hurricane Helene this week as he defended spending the weekend at his beach house when the storm hit. 

'I've told the governor of North Carolina I'll go down and I expect to be down there by Wednesday or Thursday when it is clear for me,' he told reporters at the White House.

'I'm committed to traveling to impacted areas as soon as possible, but I've been told that it would be disruptive if I did it right now,' he noted.

The president became defensive when asked how he was in command while spending the weekend at his Rehoboth Beach vacation home while the hurricane was devastating parts of the South.

'I was commanding, I was on the phone for at least two hours yesterday, and the day before, as well. I commanded, it's called a telephone,' he said.

He noted he spoke with the governors of Georgia and North Carolina, two of the states hardest hit by the storm.

At least 121 deaths in six states have been attributed to the storm — a toll that climbed Monday as a clearer picture emerged of the devastation it inflicted on an area stretching from Florida's Gulf Coast northward to the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia. 

More than 600 are missing.

'We're not leaving until the job is done,' Biden said. 

Roads and I-64, a major interstate, have been wiped out in parts of these areas, making it difficult to bring in necessary supplies. Local and federal officials, along with the National Guard, are racing to bring relief.

More than 460,000 people are without power and more than 1,000 had taken refuge in 24 shelters.

Search and rescue teams from 19 states and the US government have converged on North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper said, adding that some roads could take months to repair. 

Meanwhile, Donald Trump heads to Georgia on Monday to address the efforts to help victims of the hurricane.

Biden refused to comment when asked if the former president would be disruptive.

'I don't have any idea,' he told reporters.

And Kamala Harris is cancelling her planned campaign stops for Monday in order to return to Washington D.C. for briefings on Hurricane Helene.

She will leave Las Vegas in the morning and be in Washington for a briefing at FEMA on Monday afternoon, according to her campaign. She will also visit the devastated areas when it won't disrupt the emergency response efforts.

Damage estimates ranged from $15billion to more than $100billion, insurers and forecasters said over the weekend, as water systems, communications and critical transportation routes were affected.

Property damage and lost economic output will become clearer as officials assess the destruction.

Roughly 2.7 million customers throughout the South were without power on Sunday, a US Energy Department official said, down 40 per cent from Friday after unprecedented storm surges, ferocious winds and perilous conditions extended hundreds of miles inland.