Helene aftermath: Nearly 100 dead, historic flooding, millions without power amid catastrophic destruction

In what is being called a historic, 'once-in-a-generation' Hurricane Helene unleashed catastrophic flooding, ferocious winds, and perilous conditions that extend hundreds of miles inland.

Now that communications are slowly being restored and the images of widespread damage across Florida and Georgia becomes clear, extreme rain from Helene continued to unleash catastrophic flooding in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia throughout the weekend.

Helene's death toll has passed 100, with deaths reported in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. At least 36 people are dead in North Carolina, according to county and state officials and 25 deaths have been reported in South Carolina, including two firefighters, authorities said. At least 17 people have died in Georgia with two killed by a tornado in Alamo.

Here in North Carolina, Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder said officials have received about 600 missing persons reports through an online form. Supplies are being airlifted to the region around the isolated city of Asheville Pinder said, telling The Associated Press she would have food and water to the city by Monday.

“We hear you. We need food and we need water. My staff has been making every request possible to the state for support and we’ve been working with every single organization that has reached out. What I promise you is that we are very close.”

One of the most colossal storms to strike the Gulf of Mexico in the past century, Helene's devastation is far-reaching. It unleashed unprecedented storm surges, ferocious winds and perilous conditions that extended hundreds of miles inland.

Describing the impact of the storm as “stunning,” President Joe Biden said he would visit affected areas this week adding that the administration is giving states “everything we have” to help with their response to the storm.

In one of the more dramatic water rescues, dozens of patients and staff were forced onto the roof of Unicoi County Hospital in Eastern Tennessee Friday morning when turbulent floodwaters from the overflowing Nolichucky River surged around the building. Luckily, helicopters arrived to bring everyone to safety.

More than 32 inches of rain fell in Jeter Mountain, North Carolina, and nearly 30 inches was reported in Busick, North Carolina.

Several states are still dealing with major power outages four days after Helene made landfall. The most affected are Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio, which together have more than 2 million customers without power as of Monday morning.

At the height of outages, more than 4 million customers were without power early Friday. For hurricanes, this is the largest number since Hurricane Irma knocked out power to 7.6 million customers in 2017.

The full extent of damage has yet to be revealed in hard-to-reach locations. Western North Carolina was essentially cut off because of landslides and flooding that closed Interstate 40 and other roads.

As of Saturday morning, NCDOT said 400 roads were closed. In many cases, roads and bridges that got washed out also damaged water, gas, and communications lines. This could take weeks to fix and leave relief organizations unable to reach the areas where help is most needed. In many cases, people have been unable to reach loved ones because of downed cell phone towers.

While the worst of Helene is over, the extensive cleanup and recovery process is just beginning, with the Red Cross and many other organizations coming together to help those in need.