Days after Hurricane Helena devastated parts of the American Southeast, the crisis is ongoing in Asheville, North Carolina, where officials are appealing for more water, food and other supplies to be delivered to residents of flooded areas where power is out and cell phones are down. The number of victims of the storm is now close to a hundred.
Deaths from the storm were reported in Florida, Georgia, Southern North Carolina and Virginia. Only in one county in North Carolina, where the mountain town of Asheville is located, 30 people died.
Governor Roy Cooper predicted the death toll would rise as rescuers approached areas cut off by collapsed roads, damaged infrastructure and heavy flooding.
More than two million homes and businesses in Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina were without power Monday, according to the website PowerOutage.us.
Officials warn that rebuilding and recovering from major property damage after the hurricane will be difficult and take a long time.
Vice President Kamala Harris has canceled planned campaign events in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is returning to Washington earlier than planned to participate in briefings at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters. Her campaign headquarters announced that Harris would visit the hurricane-hit region "as soon as possible without disrupting emergency rescue operations."
Previously, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump criticized her for not being more involved in the response to the hurricane and announced that he would visit the affected region. He will visit Valdosta, Georgia today to learn about the storm and help distribute humanitarian aid, his campaign headquarters said.
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