U.S. President Joe Biden will survey damage in parts of the northeast that suffered catastrophic flash flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Ida and use the occasion to ramp up the call for federal spending on infrastructure.

At least 50 people were killed in six Eastern states as record rainfall last Wednesday overwhelmed rivers and sewer systems. CBS reported on Tuesday that at least 68 people have died.

Biden is scheduled to visit New Jersey and New York City on Tuesday to survey storm damage. The storm killed at least 27 people in New Jersey and 13 in New York City.

The president has approved major disaster declarations in New York and New Jersey and ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the affected areas.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, touring flood-damaged areas of Lambertville on Labor Day, said Biden's major disaster declaration will allow individuals to receive assistance, including grants for temporary housing and home repairs and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses.

Biden's visit follows a trip on Friday to Louisiana, where Hurricane Ida first made landfall, killing at least 13 people in the state and leaving nearly 600,000 residents out of power.

Biden used his appearance in Louisiana to pitch his still pending plan to spend $1 trillion modernizing roads, bridges, sewers and drainage systems, and other infrastructure to make them better able to withstand the blows from more powerful storms. 

"Hurricane Ida is another reminder that we need to be prepared for the next hurricane and superstorms that are going to come, and they're going to come more frequently and more ferociously," Biden said Friday.

Ida was the fifth-most powerful storm to hit the U.S. when it made landfall in Louisiana on August 29. The storm's remnants dropped devastating rainfall across parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, causing significant disruption in major cities.

The devastation exposed flaws in preparation plans even after New Jersey and New York spent billions of dollars to prevent a reoccurrence of Superstorm Sandy's destruction in 2012, with much spent to protect coastal communities.

Biden's plan is still pending in Congress.

(With input from AP)