At least 40 people have died after Hurricane Helene slammed into the south-eastern United States as a dangerous Category 4 storm, before later weakening to a tropical depression by Friday afternoon.
The deaths were reported in US media across the states of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. The governor of Georgia said at least 11 people had died in his state.
Around 4 million homes and businesses were without power across those states and beyond, with houses destroyed and entire communities flooded.
There were fears that many people could still be trapped under collapsed and damaged buildings. Many roads across the region were not passable.
US Vice President Kamala Harris said she and President Joe Biden were monitoring the situation closely.
She said some 1,500 personnel had been deployed to support impacted communities.
The National Weather Service said Helene made landfall on the west coast of Florida as a Category 4 hurricane – the second highest category – but then began losing steam.