Hurricane Helene has left “biblical devastation” in North Carolina as recovery efforts get underway in earnest across southeast US.
More than 80 people have died as a result of Helene, which has caused billions of dollars worth of damage. Millions have been left without power after power lines and cell towers were damaged.
In Buncombe County, North Carolina, authorities said around 1,000 people were still unaccounted for. “We have biblical devastation through the county,” said Ryan Cole, an emergency official for the county, which contains the mountain city of Asheville – which was torn apart in the wake of Helene.
“This is the most significant natural disaster that any one of us has ever seen.”
The storm, which was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, hovered over the Tennessee Valley on Saturday and into Sunday.