In North Carolina, Helene Emergency Workers Race to Provide Relief

Authorities in North Carolina were racing on Sunday to find victims and rescue people in mountainous communities in the western part of the state after Hurricane Helene decimated the area with floods and mudslides.

With help from search-and-rescue teams from other states and the federal government, the state was airdropping food to cutoff communities and sending workers to restore water systems that had been damaged by floods.

In one hard-hit town, helicopters were dropping food from overhead at a church and a Harley-Davidson shop. North Carolina officials said more than 200 people have been rescued, including 119 people rescued on Saturday by the National Guard. There were 45 search-and-rescue teams working, with help from 19 states and the federal government. Meanwhile, residents were scrambling to find basic necessities like gas, water, food and cell service to reach family and friends.

Although the exact number remains unclear, at least 37 people have died in storm-related deaths in the state so far, officials said, in what they called a historic disaster. And that number may still grow.

“This is an unprecedented tragedy that requires an unprecedented response,” Gov. Roy Cooper said at a news briefing on Sunday afternoon.

Helene made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast on Thursday night and marched inland, leaving a stretch of devastation throughout the Southeast. It has killed more than 90 people across the region.