Helene death toll now at least 166 as Biden plans to visit ravaged Carolinas

President Joe Biden volition survey the devastation successful North and South Carolina connected Wednesday arsenic rescuers proceed their hunt for anyone inactive unaccounted for aft Hurricane Helene caused catastrophic harm crossed the Southeast and killed astatine slightest 166 people.

Many residents successful some states were inactive without moving water, cellular work and energy arsenic floodwaters receded and revealed much of the decease and demolition near successful Helene's path.

"We person to leap commencement this betterment process," Biden said Tuesday, estimating it volition outgo billions. "People are frightened to death. This is urgent."

While Biden is successful the Carolinas, Vice President Kamala Harris volition beryllium successful neighboring Georgia.

Helene, 1 of the deadliest storms successful caller U.S. history, knocked retired powerfulness and cellular work for millions. More than 1.2 cardinal customers inactive were successful the acheronian aboriginal Wednesday successful the Carolinas and Georgia. Some residents cooked nutrient connected charcoal grills oregon hiked to precocious crushed successful the hopes of uncovering a awesome to fto loved ones cognize they are alive.

SEE ALSO: Father trekked 12 hours to get to daughter's wedding aft Hurricane Helene

On Tuesday, cadaver dogs and hunt crews trudged done knee-deep muck and debris successful the mountains of occidental North Carolina looking for much victims. At slightest 57 radical were killed successful Buncombe County alone, location to metropolis of Asheville, a tourism haven known for its creation galleries, breweries and outdoor activities.

In Swannanoa, a tiny assemblage extracurricular Asheville, receding floodwaters revealed cars stacked connected apical of others and trailer homes that had floated distant during the storm. Roads were caked with mud and debris and pockmarked by sinkholes.

Cliff Stewart survived 2 feet of h2o that poured into his home, topping the wheels connected his wheelchair and sending his medicine bottles floating from country to room. Left without energy and reliant connected nutrient drop-offs from friends, helium has refused offers to assistance him leave.

"Where americium I going to go?" the Marine Corps seasoned said. "This is each I've got. I conscionable don't privation to springiness it up, due to the fact that what americium I going to do? Be homeless? I'd alternatively dice close present than unrecorded homeless."

"Communities were wiped disconnected the map," North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said astatine a quality conference.

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Across the borderline successful East Tennessee, a caravan including Gov. Bill Lee surveying harm extracurricular the municipality of Erwin drove by a unit pulling 2 bodies from the wreckage, a grim reminder that the rescue and betterment operations are inactive precise overmuch ongoing and the decease toll is apt to rise.

In Augusta, Georgia, Sherry Brown was converting powerfulness from the alternator of her car to support her refrigerator running. She has been taking "bird baths" with h2o collected successful coolers. In different portion of the city, radical waited successful enactment much than 3 hours to get h2o from 1 of 5 centers acceptable up to service much than 200,000 people.

What is being done to help?

Exhausted exigency crews worked astir the timepiece to wide roads, reconstruct powerfulness and telephone service, and scope those inactive stranded by the storm, which killed astatine slightest 166 radical successful six states, including galore who were deed by falling trees oregon trapped successful flooded cars and homes. Nearly fractional of the deaths were successful North Carolina, portion dozens of others were successful South Carolina and Georgia.

More than 150,000 households person registered for assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and that fig is expected to emergence rapidly successful the coming days, said Frank Matranga, an bureau representative.

Nearly 2 cardinal ready-to-eat meals and much than a cardinal liters of h2o person been sent to the hardest-hit areas, helium said.

The tempest unleashed the worst flooding successful a period successful North Carolina, dumping much than 2 feet (61 centimeters) of rainfall successful places.

Cooper's medication said Tuesday that much than 2 twelve h2o plants remained closed. Active-duty U.S. subject units whitethorn beryllium needed to assistance the semipermanent recovery, helium said, adding that Biden had fixed "the greenish light" to mobilizing subject assets soon.

A conception of 1 of the region's main arteries, Interstate 40, reopened Tuesday aft a mudslide was cleared, but a collapsed agelong adjacent North Carolina's borderline with Tennessee remained closed.

How immoderate of the hardest-hit areas are coping

Residents and concern owners wore masks and gloves portion clearing debris Tuesday successful Hot Springs, North Carolina, wherever astir each gathering on the tiny town's main thoroughfare was heavy damaged.

Sarah Calloway, who owns the deli and gourmet market Vaste Riviere Provisions, said the tempest arrived successful municipality frighteningly quickly. She helped capable sandbags the time the nighttime before, but they turned retired to beryllium useless. The h2o roseate truthful rapidly that adjacent though she and others were successful an flat connected an precocious floor, she feared they would not beryllium safe. They called to petition a rescue from a swift h2o team.

"They tried to get to us, and astatine that constituent they couldn't," she said. "Luckily, that was erstwhile the h2o started to recede."

"It was truly challenging to ticker however rapidly it roseate up and past conscionable to ticker full buildings floating down the river. It was thing I can't adjacent describe," she said.

In the Black Mountain Mobile Home Park successful Swannanoa connected Tuesday, Carina Ramos and Ezekiel Bianchi were overwhelmed by the damage. The couple, their children and canine fled successful the predawn acheronian connected Friday arsenic the Swannanoa River's rapidly rising waters began flooding the bottommost extremity of the park.

By then, trees were blocking the roads and the mates abandoned their 3 vehicles, each of which flooded.

"We near everything due to the fact that we were panicking," Ramos said.

Their children were staying with Ramos' parents and did not privation to adjacent spot the devastated trailer.

"My girl was crying, panicking," Ramos said. "She says she doesn't privation to spot her country afloat of toys, each thrown everywhere."

Mobile work knocked out

The wide harm and outages affecting communications infrastructure near galore radical without unchangeable entree to the net and cellular service.

Mayor Zeb Smathers of Canton, North Carolina, expressed vexation Tuesday that truthful galore of his constituents were inactive without compartment work and fixed nary wide timetable for erstwhile it would beryllium restored.

"People are walking the streets of Canton with their phones up successful the aerial trying to drawback a cellphone awesome similar it's a butterfly," helium told The Associated Press. "Every azygous facet of this effect has been highly crippled by deficiency of cellphone communication. The 1 clip we perfectly needed our cellphones to enactment they failed."

Teams from Verizon were moving to repair downed compartment towers, damaged fibre cables and supply alternate forms of connectivity crossed the region, the institution said successful a statement.

AT&T, meanwhile, said it launched "one of the largest mobilizations of our catastrophe betterment assets for exigency connectivity support."

The efforts to reconstruct work was made much challenging by the region's terrain and spread-out population, said David Zumwalt, president and CEO of the Association for Broadband Without Boundaries.

Destruction from Florida to Virginia

Helene blew ashore successful Florida precocious Thursday arsenic a Category 4 hurricane and upended beingness passim the Southeast, wherever deaths were besides reported successful Florida, Tennessee and Virginia.

Across Georgia, Helene's inland way knocked retired powerfulness and shattered lives from Valdosta to Augusta, wherever a enactment of cars waiting to get h2o Tuesday stretched astatine slightest a half-mile (0.8 kilometers) down the road.

"It's been rough," said Kristie Nelson, who had nary thought erstwhile her energy would beryllium restored. "I'm conscionable dying for a blistery shower."

With astatine slightest 36 killed successful South Carolina, Helene passed the 35 radical who were killed successful the authorities aft Hurricane Hugo made landfall northbound of Charleston successful 1989.

When Tennessee Gov. Lee flew to the eastbound portion of the authorities to survey harm connected Tuesday, residents said the politician and his entourage were the archetypal assistance they had seen since the tempest hit.

"Where has everyone been?" 1 frustrated section asked. "We person been present alone."