The latest on the aftermath of Hurricane Helene

Our live coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Helene has moved here.

A destroyed house with a car under it in Chimney Rock, North Carolina, on September 29.

The small village of Chimney Rock, North Carolina, is coming to terms with the “total devastation” caused by Helene, which has left several people unaccounted for and obliterated riverside homes and downtown businesses, Mayor Peter O’Leary told CNN.

Some families have yet to contact their loved ones as cell service in the area remains “nonexistent,” O’Leary told CNN’s Laura Coates.

Emergency crews are relying on radio communications, and the mayor said he has resorted to staying 10-15 miles out of town so he can contact people in the mornings and evenings before venturing back into the village.

The downtown business district is “100% destroyed,” he said, including the general store that O’Leary owns. And though some homes were spared, anything close to the river was destroyed, wiping heaps of debris into nearby Lake Lure.

Asked what he would tell President Joe Biden, who is visiting the state on Wednesday, the mayor said Chimney Rock needs a “financial commitment to rebuild.”

“There is a strong spirit to rebuild the town, rebuild the area. Chimney Rock is a historic, iconic landmark for western North Carolina,” O’Leary said.

The reality of a prolonged recovery is still sinking in for Chimney Rock residents, he said.

“It’s still just so fresh for everybody. Of course, we want to rebuild. All of us want to rebuild. But we have monumental challenges in front of us.”

Two deaths have been reported in Washington County, Tennessee, following Hurricane Helene, bringing the storm’s death toll to at least 130 people across six states.

The two deaths were confirmed by Washington County Mayor Joe Grandy.

As of Monday evening, 17 people remain unaccounted for in the county, he added.

Here’s the breakdown of deaths by state, according to CNN’s tally:

Debris is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Asheville, North Carolina, on September 30.

Approximately 600 people were still unaccounted for in Asheville, North Carolina, Monday afternoon as the city suffers from washed out roads and bridges, cell service outages and blackouts, the mayor told CNN.

Extensive damage to roads and infrastructure has isolated many remote communities and prevented crews from reaching residents with vital supplies, Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer said on “The Source” Monday night.

The devastation wrought by Helene in the city is “catastrophic,” the mayor said. “The pictures don’t do it justice”

President Joe Biden will fly over the city on Wednesday to survey the damage, she added.

Members of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission work to rescue a manatee that was stranded in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are working to rescue manatees stranded in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

“While our top priority has been helping Florida residents & visitors recover from Helene’s impacts, we are also working swiftly to rehabilitate & conserve these gentle giants,” the commission said in a post on X.

If people come across a stranded, injured or dead manatee, they should avoid handling the creature and instead call the Wildlife Alert Hotline or a local wildlife rehabilitation center, the commission advised. The animals may need expert medical attention.

On Saturday, the agency rescued a manatee that had become breached at the end of a runway at MacDill Air Force Base, CNN affiliate WFTV reports. The manatee had ventured to the base as water levels rose during the storm but could not get back to the bay once the water receded.

Officials in Mitchell County, North Carolina, which borders Tennessee, are telling residents that cell phone service is so unreliable. residents who need help should go to the local fire department.

The county’s website has a list of 15 items the nearly 15,000 residents should know. According to the list, there is a curfew from 8 p.m. from 7 a.m.

As for contacting 911, the county says cell service is “basically nonexistent” and it urges people to “go to your local volunteer fire department station if you need assistance.”

Officials also noted nursing facilities are getting help but “residents may be relocated in the future.”

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper speaks with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell at the Asheville Regional Airport in Fletcher, North Carolina, on September 30.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper denied reports that former President Donald Trump made about disaster relief in the state, saying it’s time to “put politics aside.”

Trump said in a post on Truth Social that there were reports of “the Federal Government, and the Democrat Governor of the State, going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.” Trump didn’t provide evidence when asked by a reporter.

Speaking with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, the governor said, “It makes no difference who you are. If you need help, we are going to provide it. And if there is ever a time where we all need to come together and put politics aside, it is now.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has delivered 1 million liters of water and 600,000 meals to people in North Carolina, Governor Roy Cooper said.

There are also 92 search and rescue teams working to bring people to safety, he said.

“There’s a lot to do in the short term, there’s going to be a monumental task to recover in the long term,” Cooper said.

North Carolina’s 211 line has received over 2,900 calls reporting loved ones that family and friends can’t get into contact with since impacts from Hurricane Helene began, Governor Roy Cooper said.

When someone makes a report, search and rescue teams go out and do a welfare check in addition to doing rescues, the governor said.

Some people who made reports have since said they were able to get into contact with loved ones as cell service gradually gets restored, he said.

23XI Racing team and Michael Jordan are donating $1 million total to help with North Carolina’s recovery from Hurricane Helene, they announced on Instagram.

23XI Racing, which is co-owned by Jordan and NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin, is based out of North Carolina, according to their website. Jordan also spent much of his life in the state.

“While the process of recovery will take a long time, as a proud North Carolinian, I know firsthand the strength and resilience of the people in this state we call home, and we will get through this together,” Jordan said in a statement posted on Instagram.

They said they plan to contribute $500,000 each to NC Disaster Relief Fund and Second Harvest of Metrolina.

Debris and a mobile home are piled up along a tree line in Old Fort, North Carolina on September 29.

There is no official number for how many people are unaccounted for in North Carolina as of Monday afternoon, Governor Roy Cooper said.

He emphasized search and rescue teams are still out on missions and once cell service gets restored, it will be easier to determine how many people are missing.

Buncombe County, where Asheville is located, also did not have a specific number of people missing, County Manager Avril Pinder said.

Cooper encouraged anyone in the state who is having a hard time getting in contact with loved ones to call 211.

This isn’t the first time a tropical system has devastated Canton, North Carolina, but Mayor Zeb Smathers said there is a major difference between Hurricane Helene’s aftermath today and three years ago, when flooding from Tropical Storm Fred destroyed his city.

“We are facing search and rescue and recovery from a storm in 2024 with 1990s technology. At best,” a frustrated Smathers told CNN, referring to the total collapse of cellular communications in Canton and Haywood County.

“The number one issue is lack of communication. In the beginning, before the worst parts of the storm on Friday, we lost all cellular communications. And that is across the region. And it has crippled every aspect of our ability to respond and to recover. That goes from the storm through even still today. It is unacceptable and it is dangerous,” Mayor Smathers said, speaking with CNN from the Canton Police Department, where a Starlink is located in Haywood County.

“If I am not physically at the police station, and someone needs me, a police officer has to go out on the road and find me. We can’t respond to needs,” Smathers said. “There are families living in turmoil because they can’t make a simple cell phone call 72 hours after this storm. We can’t communicate with crisis management to deliver supplies, because we don’t know what we have and what people need.”

Smathers told CNN there is aid arriving into Canton but the connectivity issues have prevented smooth coordination and he fears it has likely led to the people who might need it the most not getting the help they need. He noted, days later, sometimes there is “spotty service” early in the morning but most cell phones still don’t work “even trying the new iPhone satellite connection technology.”

“I have witnessed with my own eyes, FEMA and state assistance on the ground but due to communication issues I can’t tell you to what degree they are here. I can’t reach my own police officers and firefighters unless I see them in person at the station and town hall. I am literally passing notes to our water department to coordinate with the energy company to help turn the water back on. I am passing notes. It’s 2024. It’s unacceptable.”

Smathers said his community is in desperate need of additional Starlink capabilities or even mobile communication towers.

“I am hearing rumors there are mobile communications towers but I don’t know. I’ve heard they have some in Asheville, we need them too. Bring us connections. Help us get service. This was the moment we needed our cell phones most. We have been crippled by the inability of the telecommunications companies to service our basic emergency needs,” Smathers said.

Canton faced extreme destruction in 2021 due to flooding from Tropical Storm Fred. Mayor Smathers said the lessons they learned helped the town prepare this time around but it wasn’t enough.

“Three years ago, in Haywood County, we went through flooding after Tropical Storm Fred. So I think we were better prepared than anybody. But when you have a 28-foot crest of your river, preparation only takes you so far,” said Smathers. “It was apocalyptic here. Creeks became streams, streams became rivers, rivers became oceans. Businesses, restaurants, houses, they’re gone. My sister lost her home. Roads and bridges, just washed out and gone. I see the anguish on the faces of everyone I meet, they are going through this again three years later. The idea that Western North Carolina seems to be Hurricane Row is a story in itself.”

“No disrespect to our friends down east but I think this will go down as the worst natural disaster in North Carolina history. When it’s all said and done,” Smathers told CNN, with sadness in his voice.

Twenty-two acute care hospitals in North Carolina are back on the power grid as of Sunday night after they were on generator power for several days, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley said.

The hospitals were able to continue care with generator power, he said.

The department is maintaining “near hourly contact” with the hospitals and is supplying food, water and other supplies to ensure they can maintain services, Kinsley said.

North Carolina Emergency Management is working to get more resources like food and water into communities that are impacted by flooding after washed out roads made it difficult over the last several days, Director Will Ray said Monday.

“We are continuing to ramp up pushes of commodities, particularly water and MREs (ready-to-eat meals), as well as fuel and other resources into the impacted communities,” he said.

The state is also increasing the number of vehicles and air support to get those materials out, and is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to sustain those levels over the next couple of weeks, he said.

Officials conducted an aerial overview of western North Carolina Monday and the damage is “extensive and devastating,” Governor Roy Cooper said in a news conference.

“We know this is going to require significant resources both in the short term and the long term,” he said.

Baker Jarvis tries to recover belongings from his home in Keaton Beach, Florida, on Sunday.

The death toll from Helene has risen to at least 128. Here is the breakdown of deaths by state, according to CNN’s tally:

People look at flood damagenear Lake Lure, North Carolina on September 28.

While government at all levels is working hard to help western North Carolina recover from recent flooding, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein told CNN “It’s going to take us weeks, months and years to recover.”

While the state’s Department of Transportation works “day and night” to clear washed out roads and airlifts are being conducted to bring in materials, the state is also still in active rescue mode.

“Everybody is doing everything they can to move mountains, to try and help people who are suffering,” Stein said, adding “It’s going to be billions of dollars to bring western North Carolina back.”

“It is a desperate situation,” he added.

After days of being without resources after Hurricane Helene pummeled North Carolina, Weaverville Vice Mayor John Chase said they are starting to see supplies coming in.

Some power was restored to help the public works department and repairs are in process for the local water treatment plant, he said.

The fire chief of hard-hit Asheville, North Carolina, told CNN on Monday the city has suffered “a tremendous amount of wreckage” and is in urgent need of food and water.

Chief Mike Cayce told CNN he was imploring the state and federal governments to send help now.

“We need it very quickly. We can’t wait any longer,” he said. “Our residents have been without food and water now for five days.”

The chief said the city had opened its first water station on Monday afternoon and each person who showed up was given one gallon of water.

“We were very excited to get that going, but we still need to have food. We still need to open up communications. We still need to get the roads and the infrastructure back up,” he said.

This is going to be a long-term event, he said.

Intense rain events like Hurricane Helene are making the idea of a “1-in-100-year flood event” obsolete, according to a 2023 report from the First Street Foundation, a non-profit focused on weather risk research.

The report found half the American population lives in a county where a 1-in-100-year flood is at least twice as likely now as past years, coming once every 50 years, on average, rather than 100.

First Street found parts of Western North Carolina hit by Helene could get a 1-in-100 year flood every 11 to 25 years. Stronger storms could impact all areas of the country. In much of the Northeast, the Ohio River Basin, Northwestern California, the Texas Gulf Coast and the Mountain West, the rainfall depths for a 1-in-100-year event could happen at least every 5 to 10 years.

Members of the Florida National Guard are seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Cedar Key, Florida on September 27.

Thousands of US National Guard members across the East Coast have been deployed to assist in post-hurricane recovery efforts, the Pentagon said Monday.

National Guard personnel from Connecticut, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Ohio, New York, South Carolina, and Florida have joined hundreds of North Carolina guardsmen to help communities devastated by Hurricane Helene, said Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary. At least 119 people have been killed across six states.

Across the states devastated by Helene, Florida has roughly 3,500 guardsmen, hundreds of tactical vehicles and boas, and 11 helicopters for emergency response. Georgia activated around 800 guardsmen. South Carolina has nearly 600 personnel and two helicopters. Tennessee activated 130 guardsmen and seven helicopters and Virginia has activated nearly 50 guardsmen, one helicopter and “numerous high-water vehicles.”

Singh said guardsmen are also assisting in state and local responses with search and rescue, route clearance, boat rescues, warehouse support, law enforcement and more.

The US Army Corps of Engineers deployed roughly 200 personnel assisting in both virtual and in-person capacities, along with another 170 contractors. The deployed personnel — in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Alabama — include those specializing in debris management, bridge inspections, infrastructure assessment and water and wastewater management, as well as two temporary emergency power planning and response teams.

Singh also said 18 helicopters, including 10 from the Navy, will arrive at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, later on Monday, while 30 high-water vehicles have been staged at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Four more search and rescue aircraft and pararescue teams have been deployed to McGee Tyson, Tennessee, she said.

Former President Donald Trump delivers remarks to the press in Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday.

Former President Donald Trump on Monday said he brought truckloads of relief aid to Valdosta, Georgia, noting his team was working with an evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization called Samaritan’s Purse to distribute the supplies.

“We came down with truckloads of things,” Trump said as he stood in front of Chez What Furniture Store, which was decimated by Hurricane Helene. “We’ve done this before. But we have a lot of truckloads of different items from oil to water to all sorts of equipment that’s going to help them.”

Several large semi-trucks parked next to where the former president spoke to reporters in Valdosta, with Trump noting many of them are “filled with relief aid and a tanker truck filled up with gasoline,” which the campaign said they aim to distribute throughout the day.

Trump said he had received a briefing on the hurricane’s impact on Valdosta earlier in the day.

He thanked first responders and spoke about how the devastation from the hurricane has stretched across several states, leaving many people dead, displaced and without power. Trump held a moment of silence during his speech for those who have died.

“As you know, our country is in the final weeks of a hard-fought national election, but in a time like this when a crisis hits when our fellow citizens cry out in need none of that matters, we’re not talking about politics now. We have to all get together and get this solved,” Trump said.

“We’re here today to stand in complete solidarity with the people of Georgia and with all of those suffering in the terrible aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Hurricane Helene turned out to be a big one,” Trump added.

Tyler Covarrubias and Lizzie Brewer of Bat Cave, North Carolina, woke up early Friday morning to the sound of boulders hitting the bridge outside their house.

They managed to escape from their home with their two cats and another couple with a cat before being airlifted to safety.

“That’s all we were worried about at the moment, is saving our animals. And we were looking around at things, and that’s when I really realized that none of what we own matters right now. And our lives, their lives, our cats’ lives, that’s all we have,” Covarrubias told CNN’s Sara Sidner.

“Leaving, it was just unrecognizable … I drive those roads all the time and I just couldn’t even picture where we were anymore,” Brewer said when asked what she saw while leaving her community in Henderson County in western North Carolina.

They don’t believe they will be able to rebuild where they were living, Brewer and Covarrubias said.

“Most of the people who have built their lives there aren’t going to be able to finish their lives there, and it’s just really horrifying,” Brewer said. “It’s sad because there’s still people there that are really hard to get to, and we’re really worried about all the people that are still there.”

Flood waters inundate the main street in Tarpon Springs, Florida, on Friday.

Some of Helene’s deadliest, most catastrophic flooding unfolded in western North Carolina. Here’s what meteorologists at the National Weather Service office in Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina, warned last week leading up to Friday’s devastation.

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Pattiy Torno, owner of Curve Studios and Garden in the River Arts District in Asheville, spoke with CNN’s Pamela Brown about losing her business and her home. She was set to celebrate the 35th anniversary of her studio next month.

“Curve Studios as an entity will not exist anymore … Mother nature said it’s time to move on, so I’m gonna listen,” Torno said.

“Nobody could have prepared for this,” she added, saying when they heard the predictions, they knew it would be bad.

When asked if she thought enough was being done by the government, Torno said the floodwater just cleared Monday morning, so help wasn’t an option until now.

“As a creative, we are resilient. It is part of our DNA … we figure sh*t out.”

Torno said she doesn’t know what the future holds but she is in good shape financially.

“I have my health, I have my life, my kitties and I got out safe. I’ll figure it out.”

President Joe Biden from the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Monday.

President Joe Biden vowed the federal government will assist survivors of Hurricane Helene “for as long as it takes” while acknowledging he might need the help of Congress.

“We’ll be there, as I said before and I mean, as long as it takes to finish this job,” Biden said in remarks from the White House Monday morning.

Asked whether he would ask Congress for supplemental funding to help with recovery efforts, Biden responded, “That is something I may have to request but no decisions made yet.”

Biden added he hoped to visit impacted areas by Wednesday or Thursday but only if those areas can handle the logistics that come with a presidential visit as they continue to recover from the storm.

Another storm could develop this week in the western Caribbean Sea or Gulf of Mexico, which isn’t what anyone in the US wants to hear in the wake of Helene.

But unlike Helene, this potential storm could have more obstacles in its path to development.

A large and disorganized area of low pressure with showers and storms over the western Caribbean has been given a medium chance of developing into a tropical system in the next seven days, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Tropical development is possible in the next seven days.

Environmental conditions could become conducive for gradual development, and a tropical depression could form later this week or this weekend while the system is over the southern Gulf of Mexico or northwestern Caribbean Sea, according to the NHC. Helene first organized over the northwestern Caribbean about a week ago.

Weather models are hinting at a possible tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico early next week, though it is too early to be certain. Until an area of low pressure forms, any forecast modeling on the potential storm will likely continue to vary widely with its ultimate strength and track.

Given this, anyone near the Gulf is advised to monitor the forecast.

President Joe Biden on Monday called Helene “a history-making storm” that is having reverberations across the entire Southeast.

The president says he will travel to impacted areas “as soon as possible,” later adding he hoped the visit would come later this week.

“My first responsibility is to get all the help needed to those impacted areas,” he said.

Urban search and rescue teams will finish all their operations in the state of Florida by the end of the day Monday, state emergency officials said at a Monday news conference.

Florida’s state emergency response teams have so far completed nearly 1,000 missions and are working on nearly 2,000 more, said Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said multiple state agencies are also focusing on deploying recovery assistance to hard-hit areas in North Carolina and Tennessee, which have been devastated by flooding.

“I think that is where they need to make sure everybody is brought to safety,” DeSantis said Monday. “My fear is just having those areas cut off, it’s a very difficult mission. We’re in the mission, we’re in the fight. We’re gonna be bringing people back to safety.”

According to the governor, the mission is known as “Operation Blue Ridge.”

Floodwaters are seen in South Asheville, North Carolina, in this image released by the North Carolina Department of Transportation on Saturday, September 28.

Buncombe County, North Carolina – which includes the city of Asheville – now has nearly three dozen confirmed deaths from Hurricane Helene, Sheriff Quentin Miller said Monday morning.

There are now 115 confirmed deaths from Helene in six states.

Miller said one of his deputies is among the people killed in Buncombe County, marking the third confirmed death of a sheriff’s deputy in North Carolina.

Local officials are begging people that aren’t directly involved in rescues and recovery to remain out of the area as infrastructure has been devastated by flooding.

Three tractor-trailers full of water arrived in the county early Monday morning, county manager Avril Pinder said, but it’s only enough to provide one day’s water supply for each resident.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell are touring Buncombe County Monday, and Pinder told CNN they will be sending leaders the message about the desperate need for supplies.

“We’ve been asking for water, and we’re just getting water, and it’s still in low quantities,” she said. “There’s a large need in our communities, and we would like to see a different response from our state partners. A better response from our state partners.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is working with the US Department of Defense to set up air bridge locations to airlift supplies into storm-damaged areas not accessible by roads, a FEMA official tells CNN.

Initial staging will likely be set up at Ft. Liberty, and airplanes and helicopters will be used to bring supplies in by air.

The FEMA official told CNN the agency will also work closely with the Army Corps of Engineers to quickly rebuild washed out roads and bridges and connect cut-off communities, the official said. “Restoring land access will be a top priority.”

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks at a news conference in Augusta, Georgia, on Monday.

The death toll in Georgia rose to 25 people due to the devastation from Hurricane Helene, Gov. Brian Kemp said in a news conference Monday.

“This storm literally spared no one,” he said.

Kemp flew over parts of Georgia on Monday to survey the damage and said it was “unprecedented” to see such destruction so far inland.

He said recovery efforts were underway and had already improved from the peak outages this weekend.

“We know people are frustrated, we know they are tired, we know they need power back on, need resources, and we are working 24/7 to deliver that,” he said.

It’s been four days since Helene made landfall and the people of Asheville, North Carolina, are still unable to send texts or place calls, making it difficult to confirm if people are safe, its mayor told CNN Monday.

Through the devastation Helene left in its wrath, it’s hard to know when power and water will be restored to the community, Manheimer said. The area is in dire need of critical resources like food, drinking water, portable toilets, baby formula and necessities anyone would need after going through a natural disaster.

Access to the community is cut off on three of the four major highways, the mayor said, posing an incredible challenge to receive resources from outside entities — some are having to be flown in, she said.

And yet throughout all the devastation, the mayor said she’s reminded of how wonderful the community is by their willingness to help each other right now.

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Watch the full interview with Asheville's mayor

08:08 - Source: CNN

A van sits in floodwaters near the Biltmore Village in Asheville, North Carolina, on Saturday.

Hurricane Helene will rank among the deadliest hurricanes to strike the mainland United States in the past 50 years – and the death toll, which is already over 100, will likely continue to climb.

Hurricane Katrina tops the list with at least 1,833 fatalities from the storm and subsequent flooding. Hurricane Ian, which struck southeast Florida in 2022, caused 150 direct and indirect fatalities.

Helene is currently third on the list, already surpassing Hurricane Irma from 2017, which killed 92 in the US, mostly in Florida.

Hurricane Harvey and Superstorm Sandy resulted in between 60-75 fatalities in the US.

Note: This list only includes mainland US hurricanes, so Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico is not included.

The death toll in Buncombe County, North Carolina, is already at 30 people and is expected “to go much higher,” Weaverville Mayor Patrick Fitzsimmons told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on CNN News Central Monday morning.

Weaverville, a city of about 5,000 people located 10 miles north of Asheville in Buncombe County, is in a heavily forested area, and hundreds of huge trees fell down as Helene moved through, destroying the power infrastructure, Fitzsimmons said. Officials there expect power, water and cell service to be out for at least a week, he said.

Water is the greatest concern right now, Fitzsimmons said. The water treatment plant is down, and there is no commercial or retail water available in the city. In addition, roads were washed out, hampering recovery efforts and deliveries, although some water came in by helicopter on Sunday, he said.

Fitzsimmons said the large-scale destruction from Helene also had a small-scale, personal impact on him.

“A huge oak tree in my backyard came down on my house as well, and I miss that old oak tree,” he said. “It was a great tree.”

Debris and a mobile home are piled up along a tree line in Old Fort, North Carolina, on Sunday.

More than 100 people have died due to Hurricane Helene as of Monday, marking a grim milestone that reflects the storm’s widespread devastation.

The death toll confirmed by CNN on Monday morning stands at 102.

The most recent fatalities include five deaths reported in Henderson County, along with the death of a sheriff’s deputy in Macon County who was swept away by the storm. North Carolina is the state with the highest fatalities, with 42 people confirmed dead.

The Macon County Sheriff’s Office identified their fallen deputy as courthouse security officer Jim Lau, whose truck was overtaken by flooding during his lunch break Friday.

“He was known to be a hard worker, dependable, and he jumped in wherever help was needed,” the sheriff’s office posted on Facebook. “His absence will truly be felt in our agency.”

A man embraces his daughter-in-law among the debris of his destroyed home in Horseshoe Beach, Florida, on Saturday.

Short on supplies, short on power and short on patience, the people who saw the brutal force of a massive storm upend their lives have emerged to a new week, facing the daunting challenge of rebuilding. Some of the roads and bridges they need to do the job aren’t there anymore. Electricity could be a week away or longer. Emergency services are stretched. Communications infrastructure is in shreds. And neighbors, some of whose own homes are gone, are helping neighbors – all the while worrying about the fate of those from whom they haven’t heard.

At least 97 people have died across six states and officials believe there could be more. So far, state and county officials said 36 people died in North Carolina, 25 in South Carolina, 17 in Georgia, 11 in Florida, four in Tennessee andtwo in Virginia. Hundreds have been reported missing, perhaps unable to leave their location or unable to contact family, with phone and internet service still spotty in some hard-hit communities.

Helene’s path of destruction stretched more than 500 miles, from coastal Florida to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Ravaged by the storm, the historic North Carolina mountain community of Asheville is now isolated as hundreds of roads in the Carolinas remain closed, hampering the delivery of badly-needed supplies — and making it difficult to get people out.

More than 2 million customers remain without power, according to PowerOutage.us. Power companies are dealing with damaged and blocked roads as they work to restore power to homes and businesses.

President Joe Biden will visit some of the affected communities later this week, “as soon as it will not disrupt emergency response operations,” the White House said Sunday evening. He will speak Monday morning at the White House about federal efforts underway to speed resources to where they are needed. The president approved disaster relief and has been in contact with the governors where the damage was most severe.

Read the full story.

Workers clear a road in Fairview, North Carolina, on Sunday.

It had been 48 hours since the winds and rains from Hurricane Helene ripped through western North Carolina and Sam Perkins still had not heard from his parents.

So, on Saturday morning, he got in his vehicle and started driving toward their home, nestled on a mountain between Spruce Pine and Little Switzerland, to find them.

“My parents live in an absolute gem of the North Carolina mountains,” Perkins said in a post about about his experience. The area is about an hour’s drive from Asheville. “Under normal circumstances, it’s pleasantly very isolated,” he added, in a post about his experience.

“Little did I know that up there, Helene has demolished roads, homes and utility networks. This area is completely cut off from resources in every direction.”

At least 93 people are dead after Helene tore through the southeastern United States, according to CNN’s tally. North Carolina was hit hard: Days of unrelenting flooding have turned roads into waterways, left many stranded without basic necessities and strained state resources.

Gov. Roy Cooper called it “one of the worst storms in modern history.” While supplies have been deployed, at least 280 roads are still closed throughout the state, making it hard for officials to get them into areas in need, Cooper said.

When he realized how many roads were cut off, Perkins said he left his vehicle near a closed highway at the bottom of the mountain and started hiking to his parents’ home.

“I tried every road route I could, but the roads, no matter where you go, are blocked by landslides or failures,” Perkins explained to CNN. “I can’t tell you how many failing roads and deep mudslides I had to cross, how many fallen trees I had to take off my backpack for and navigate through.”

While hiking, Perkins said he ran into multiple people trapped due to the devastated highway. For more than three-and-half hours, Perkins said he hiked 11 miles and 2,200 feet high to finally reach his parents’ home.

“I have never been so relieved to see anyone OK,” Perkins told CNN, adding his parents are in their 70s, but pretty resourceful people.

“I just hugged them, cried, filled them in on all the news they were missing… Walked around the property, helped them decide how to approach some challenges.”

Read the full story.

The sheer number of communities affected by storm damage in Georgia is making it very difficult to get help to the people who need it, the top emergency management official in Jefferson County said Monday morning.

“Response to resource request has been very slow as over 30 counties are basically competing for the same resources and vendors are unable to fulfill those requests,” Emergency Services Director Jim Anderson told CNN via email.

Anderson posted a note to the community on Facebook Sunday saying “I feel your frustration” at the pace of recovery.

“I guess to summarize, their frustrations are justified,” Anderson told CNN.

In addition to a lack of supplies, there is also a lack of ability to communicate, he said. “We have radio towers down, we have no power, 911 services are impacted, and everyone is working to their physical and mental capacity at this time,” said Anderson.

CNN reached out to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency Monday morning for comment on the recovery effort.