After hitting Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 4 hurricane late last week, Helene tore through the Southeast, unleashing historic rain and flooding in parts of Georgia and the Carolinas and leaving dozens of people dead and millions without power.
Western North Carolina was particularly hard-hit, as Helene inundated rivers, washed away roads and cut off communications and cell service, complicating rescue efforts. In Buncombe County, N.C., alone, there have been at least 30 storm-related deaths and hundreds of people reported missing. Floodwaters from the Swannanoa River overwhelmed Asheville, N.C., which saw catastrophic damage. The river crested at Asheville's Biltmore Estate at 26.1 feet, nearly 6 feet above the record.
In Valdosta, Ga., 100-year-old trees fell on top of houses, and several downtown buildings were destroyed. “It looks like hell,” one longtime resident told NBC News.
A damaged sign in the Biltmore Village in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Sept. 28 in Asheville, N.C. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
A view of storm damage at Chez What on Sept. 28 in Valdosta, Ga. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Photos from across the region show the devastation left by Helene.
Trees fell on houses and roads as Hurricane Helene hit the Southeast, causing power outages and school closings in Charlotte N.C. (Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Images)
After heavy rains from Hurricane Helene, the Broad River flowing into Lake Lure overcame the village of Chimney Rock, N.C., with debris. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
A stop sign in a flooded parking lot can barely be seen on Sept. 28 after torrential rain from Hurricane Helene caused severe flooding in Morganton, N.C. (Kathy Kmonicek/AP)
A broken utility pole in Asheville, N.C. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
An aerial view of a Walgreens in Asheville, N.C. on Sept. 29. (Marco Bello/Reuters)
The Biltmore Village in Asheville, N.C., sustained extensive damage in Hurricane Helene. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
A motorist drives by a dead fish in the Biltmore Village in Asheville, N.C., on Sept. 28. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Janice Whitley works to find valuables in her 93-year-old mother's bedroom on Sept. 29 in Old Fort, N.C. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
A huge pile of wood slats, metal and other debris in standing water in the Biltmore Village on Sept. 28 following Helene. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Heavy rains from Hurricane Helene caused record flooding and damage in Asheville, N.C. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
Workers survey a large section of Highway 105 that washed away because of floodwaters during Tropical Storm Helene, on the outskirts of Boone, N.C., on Sept. 27. (Jonathan Drake/Reuters)
A van is partially submerged in the Swannanoa River in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Asheville, N.C., on Sept. 29. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
The entrance to Terry Wilson's home in Old Fort, N.C., is seen caked in thick mud on Sept. 29. Wilson was able to get himself and his 93-year-old mother, June, out of the house before the flooding. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
A large metal container and other debris are strewn across a road in Asheville, N.C. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
A crumpled mobile home and other debris can be seen along a tree line in Old Fort, N.C., on Sept. 29 following Hurricane Helene. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
Vehicles damaged by flooding and debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Sept. 29 in Old Fort, N.C. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
An aerial picture taken on Sept. 28 shows a large tree that has fallen onto a house in Valdosta, Ga. (John Falchetto/AFP via Getty Images)
A refrigerator sits tipped amid a wrecked kitchen in a flooded home in Boone, N.C. (Jonathan Drake/Reuters)
A drone view shows a U-Haul rental and damaged vehicles that have been tipped over on the side of a muddy road in Asheville, N.C. (Marco Bello/Reuters)
Houses in a damaged area following the passing of Hurricane Helene in Swannanoa, N.C. (Marco Bello/Reuters)
A person walks a bicycle down a damaged road in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Sept. 28 in Asheville, N.C. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
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