(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump announced he wants to visit western North Carolina to see damage that remains from Hurricane Helene before going to Los Angeles to view wildfire damage.

Helene hit the mountain region, which sits hundreds of miles away from the coast, in September 2024, bringing devastating flooding to the area surrounding Asheville, North Carolina.

James Green, who lives in a retirement home in Asheville, was without water for weeks after the storm. While Trump says Asheville was forgotten by the Biden administration, Green has a different view.

“He probably has a lot more input than I have, but from my look-see around town, we were hardly ignored,” Green told NewsNation. “FEMA and the Red Cross, the work they did was just fantastic.”

There is still work to be done, Green said, noting Asheville lost 40% of its trees and that there is still debris to be cleared from the sides of the roads. There are also ongoing road and bridge repairs, especially in rural areas outside Asheville’s city limits.

Following the hurricane, rumors about the FEMA response spread online as local leaders tried to combat the claims and urged people to seek emergency aid from the agency.

“A lot more people would have died if they hadn’t been there,” Green said. “So no, I don’t feel ignored.”