Photos: Biden surveys storm damage in California

President Biden arrived in California on Thursday and joined Gov. Gavin Newsom and U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla on a helicopter tour of areas along the Central Coast battered by winter storms.

The president traveled to the state after issuing an emergency declaration for California that authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief and offering federal aid for recovery efforts through a separate major disaster declaration in the six counties of Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Merced, Sacramento and Santa Cruz.

The governor has praised the Biden administration for its support of California, which sustained an estimated $1 billion in “extensive” damage from a string of storms that started on Dec. 26. The rains ultimately dropped more than 17 inches in San Francisco and 20 inches in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

President Biden meets Gov. Gavin Newsom at Moffett Federal Airfield in Mountain View, Calif.

(Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

President Biden arrives at Moffett Federal Airfield in Mountain View, Calif.

(Anadolu Agency)

Biden talks on the boardwalk with Newsom as he visits with business owners and residents in Capitola, Calif.

(Susan Walsh/Associated Press)

People watch from a distance as Biden visits with business owners and residents in Capitola.

(Susan Walsh / Associated Press)

Biden talks with Paradise Beach Grille co-owner Chuck Maier.

(Susan Walsh / Associated Press)

People watch as Biden’s motorcade arrives in Capitola.

(Susan Walsh / Associated Press)

People watch as Biden arrives in Capitola.

(Susan Walsh / Associated Press)

President Joe Biden walks near the destroyed pier before he speaks at Seacliff State Park in Aptos, Calif.

(Susan Walsh/Associated Press)

President Biden, aboard Marine One, right, flies over storm-ravaged areas in Northern California as he heads to Capitola, Calif.

(DOUG MILLS / New York Times)