President Barack Obama toured flood-stricken neighborhoods of Louisiana on Tuesday afternoon, 10 days after rainstorms spurred devastating floods that left 13 people dead in what is being called the worst natural disaster since 2012's Hurricane Sandy.

Obama praised the work of federal responders while dismissing critics, who – having chastised him for continuing his vacation in Martha's Vineyard last week – wondered if he was only making the trip down to the flood-ravaged state for the optics.

"One of the benefits of being five months to leaving office is I don't worry too much about politics," Obama said, answering questions in Zachary, Louisiana, a small city just north of Baton Rouge. "I guarantee nobody on this block, none of the first responders, nobody gives a hoot if you're Democrat or Republican."

The devastation that began after storms sent floodwaters rising more than a week ago left more than 60,700 homes damaged and more than 30,000 people in need of rescue. More than 110,000 people have registered for federal aid and 25,000 have filed national flood insurance program claims, according to the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.

"Sometimes, once the floodwaters pass, people's attention spans pass, but this is not a one-off. This is not a photo-op issue," Obama said, taking an apparent swipe at his critics, and in particular, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Trump and his vice presidential nominee, Mike Pence, paid a visit to the area Friday, greeting volunteers and castigating Obama for not cutting short his vacation. In his brief remarks, Obama returned several times to the promise not to abandon Louisiana.

"I want the people of Louisiana to know that you're not alone on this, even after the TV cameras leave, the whole country is going to continue to support you and help you," he said. "This is how you make sure a month from now, three months from now, six months from now, people get the help they need."

And while he expressed confidence that the Federal Emergency Management Agency – in part thanks to relatively few demands on federal resources so far this year – would have enough funding to cover victims' immediate needs, Obama urged Congress to be prepared to send more aid to the state.

"When we know how much permanent housing is going to be built, how much infrastructure has been damaged, that's where Congress can help," he said, nodding to the state's Republican Sens. David Vitter and Bill Cassidy, and Rep. Garret Graves, who joined him on the tour Tuesday, along with Democrats Gov. John Bel Edwards, Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden and Rep. Cedric Richmond.