Hurricane Helene leaves “biblical devastation” in North Carolina.

Hurricane Helene left “biblical devastation” in parts of North Carolina, officials say, after it ripped through five southeastern US states, leaving more than 60 people dead.

A clearer picture of the destruction emerged on Sunday in hard-hit North Carolina, where Helene brought torrential rain after passing through Florida and Georgia, inundating towns with floods and mudslides.

More than 400 roads are closed in the state and 11 people live there have died. Homes have been destroyed, cities have been cut off, water systems have failed and hundreds of thousands are without power.

“This storm has caused catastrophic devastation of historic proportions,” said Gov. Roy Cooper.

The American Red Cross has opened more than 140 shelters in southeastern states for those who have evacuated their homes. The organization announced on Sunday that more than 2,000 people were in the emergency shelters.

Sheriff Quentin Miller said around 1,000 people are still missing in Buncombe County, North Carolina.

“We are seeing biblical devastation across the county,” said Ryan Cole, an emergency official for the county, which includes the mountain town of Asheville. “This is the worst natural disaster any of us have ever seen.”

Asheville, home to about 94,000 people and a popular tourist destination, was largely cut off from flooding on Saturday after Helene swept across the region as a tropical storm.

Erin Quevedo, the owner of a flooded salon in the city, spoke to TThe Asheville Citizen Times ankle-deep in mud.

“The salon was completely destroyed. It looks like the water was up to about 5 feet inside,” she said. “Right now we’re just trying to save what we can.”

Rescue operations are underway in North Carolina and supplies, including food and water, are being delivered by air to affected areas that cannot be reached due to closed roads.

“People are desperate for help and we are pushing to get it – (it’s) a monumental effort,” said Gov. Cooper.

The North Carolina National Guard rescued more than 119 people – including an infant, according to Maj. Gen. Todd Hunt. He said the largest rescue saw 41 people rescued north of Asheville.

Across North Carolina, many gas stations are closed and there are long lines at those that are still open. Meanwhile, the few supermarkets that are open are crowded with customers trying to buy bottled water.

More than 300,000 North Carolinians were without power Sunday morning, officials said. Combined with cell service outages, this complicates efforts to reach those calling emergency services.

Another challenge was dealing with downed trees and debris, and officials in the hardest-hit area of ​​western North Carolina said all roads there were closed.

Helene began as a hurricane – the strongest on record to hit Florida’s Big Bend – and moved north across Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee after making landfall overnight Thursday.

Damage is estimated at $95 billion to $110 billion (£71 billion to £82 billion). The extent of the destruction will become clearer in the coming days.

The search for survivors continues and federal emergencies were declared in six cases States including Florida and Georgia.

According to the BBC’s US partner CBS, as of Sunday morning 63 people were confirmed to have died in five states. However, the number of victims is expected to rise as more victims are uncovered during search efforts.

The highest death toll in a single state was South Carolina, where 24 people were killed. According to the governors of the two states, 17 people died in Georgia and 11 in Florida.

“The devastation we are experiencing in the wake of Hurricane Helene has been overwhelming,” President Joe Biden said Saturday.

He was briefed by Deanne Criswell, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), who he directed to expedite assistance to storm survivors, including sending additional teams to North Carolina.

Although Helene has weakened significantly, meteorologists warn that strong winds, flooding and the threat of tornadoes could continue.

There could be up to 25 named storms in 2024, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned earlier this year.

Between eight and 13 of these storms could develop into hurricanes, and a handful, including Helene, have already done so. Officials warned that more storms could be on the horizon, with the official end of hurricane season not until November 30.