ASHEVILLE, N.C. − At least 2.5 million people remained without power Sunday across the Southeast in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene , thousands in North Carolina where the storm pulverized homes, trapped residents, spawned landslides and submerged communities under raging floodwaters.
Dozens of people have died across multiple states since the record-breaking storm hit Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 4 hurricane with 140-mph winds Thursday before moving north through Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas and weakening to a post-tropical cyclone.
On Sunday, North Carolina officials were still trying to grasp the level of devastation. Gov. Roy Cooper said at a news conference that at least 11 people died in the devastated state and officials know “there will be more.”
Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder said more than 1,000 people were reported missing through the county’s online portal, but she said she expected that number to drop dramatically when cell service is restored. Rescue crews are “still trying to save every single person we can” in the hard-hit community, Pinder said.