Hurricane Helene death toll rockets amid fears more bodies will be discovered as Southwestern states begin massive cleanup

States across the Southeastern U.S. started a massive cleanup and recovery effort on Sunday after winds, rain and storm surges from Hurricane Helene knocked out power for millions, destroyed roads and bridges, and caused catastrophic flooding. 

The devastation stretched along a string of east coast states as the storm killed at least 93 people in South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia with officials fearing even more bodies will be discovered.

After roaring shore in Florida, a weakened Helene quickly moved through Georgia, then soaked the Carolinas and Tennessee with torrential rains that flooded creeks and rivers while pushing dams to be close to bursting.

Damage estimates ranged from $15 billion to more than $100 billion, insurers and forecasters said over the weekend. 

The total amount of property damage and lost economic output will become clearer as officials assess the destruction.

The North Carolina mountain town of Asheville has faced a massive amount of destruction following the storm

Relief efforts continue in Asheville area where a major disaster due to Tropical Storm Helene has left communities devastated, roads impassable and thousands without power

Members of the FEMA Massachusetts Task Force 1 conduct search and rescue in floodwaters caused by Hurricane Helene in Haywood County, North Carolina

Residents walk along Catawba Avenue while debris is cleared in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Old Fort, North Carolina

An aerial view of a home that was destroyed by fire as a result of storm surge as Hurricane Helene passed off shore in the Davis Islands neighborhood in Tampa, Florida

North Carolina recorded the highest death toll with at least 36 dead. 30 people died in Buncombe County alone, that includes the mountain city of Asheville.

The storm unleashed the worst flooding in a century in the Tar Heel State. 

All roads in the western end of the state should be considered closed and will take months to repair, he said. Food and water are being airlifted to those areas.

The states governor Roy Cooper predicted the toll would rise as rescuers and other emergency workers reached areas isolated by collapsed roads, failing infrastructure and widespread flooding. 

He implored residents in western North Carolina to avoid travel, both for their own safety and to keep roads clear for emergency vehicles. More than 50 search teams spread throughout the region in search of stranded people.

One rescue effort involved saving 41 people north of Asheville. Another mission focused on saving a single infant. The teams found people through both 911 calls and social media messages, North Carolina National Guard Adjutant General Todd Hunt said.

Cars, trucks, billboards, entire house and roads have been blasted to bits by Helene

Rescue personnel are seen working in a flooded area in Asheville, North Carolina

Workers clean and gut a property that was flooded from the storm surge, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Steinhatchee, Florida on Sunday

Residents wait in line with gas cans at a Gas Plus gas station in North Augusta, South Carolina

Daniel Dickert walks to plant an American flag on is property where his boat shed was destroyed and his home damaged in Jena, Florida

Jose Salazar dumps debris as he helps gut a property that took on a storm surge in Steinhatchee, Florida

A passerby checks the water depth of a flooded road in Morganton, North Carolina. Torrential rain left many area streets flooded. In addition, traffic lights are broken due to powercuts

A vehicle sits outside of its garage after storm surge in Madeira Beach, Florida

Workers clean up a dock where a boat shed was destroyed in Jena, Florida

An uprooted tree landed on a pickup truck in front of a home on East Main Street in Glen Alpine, North Carolina

A drone view shows a damaged area in Asheville, North Carolina

A trailer hangs off a bridge in Asheville, North Carolina on Sunday 

Mud fills the entrance to Terry Wilsons home. Wilson was able to get himself and his 93 year old mother, June, out of the house before the flooding

: Williams Electric employees work to restore a power line off Highway 70 in Old Fort, North Carolina. The state has been approved for a Federal Major Disaster Declaration

Another community, Spruce Pine, was doused with over 2 feet of rain from Tuesday through Saturday.

Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder pledged that she would have food and water into the city - which is known for its arts, culture and natural attractions - by Monday.

We hear you. We need food and we need water, Pinder said on a Sunday call with reporters. My staff has been making every request possible to the state for support and weve been working with every single organization that has reached out. What I promise you is that we are very close. 

Part of the problem is mudslides blocking Interstate 40 and other highways prevented supplies from making it through. 

Law enforcement was making plans to send officers to places that still had water, food or gas because of reports of arguments and threats of violence, the Buncombe County Sheriff said. 

The countys own water supplies were on the other side of the Swannanoa River, away from where most of the 270,000 people in Buncombe County live, officials said. 

In Flat Rock, North Carolina, there were widespread blackouts with people waiting hours in line for gas.

Grocery stores are closed, cellphone service is out, Chip Frank, 62, said as he entered his third hour waiting in line. It all depends on these gas stations. Youre not going to be able to go nowhere, and its just a scary feeling.

The storm has damaged water systems, communications and critical transportation routes across the region, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

Damage and residual flooding from Mill Creek is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on  in Old Fort, North Carolina

People walk through mud filled streets in the aftermath of Helene in Old Fort, North Carolina

Keep sakes belonging to Terry Wilson lay outside his mothers home in the aftermath of Helene in Old Fort, North Carolina. Wilson said their beloved dogs ashes were found after the flooding

 Vehicles damaged from flooding and debris are seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Old Fort, North Carolina

Two vehicles lie upended from flooding in Old Fort, North Carolina

A sign advising residents to boil their tap water is seen after Helene passed offshore in St. Petersburg, Florida

Recovery workers deflate a flood barrier at HCA Florida Pasadena Hospital after Helene passed offshore in St. Petersburg, Florida

A flood barrier is deflated at HCA Florida Pasadena Hospital following Helene 

Flooding and damage caused by the storm that started as Hurricane Helene covering streets in Erwin, Tennessee

The Army Corps of Engineers will start assessing damage to water systems on Sunday to help them get back online, FEMA said.

South Carolina is reporting 25 fatalities, with falling trees contributing to many of them.

Its a devastating blow, but we can make it through, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster said at a press conference on Sunday. Help is on the way, but it is going to take time.

We want people to remain calm. Help is on the way, it is just going to take time, McMaster told reporters outside the airport in Aiken County. 

Roughly 2.7 million customers were without power on Sunday, a U.S. Energy Department official said, down 40 percent from Friday after unprecedented storm surges, ferocious winds and perilous conditions extended hundreds of miles inland.

Days of driving rain followed after Helene slammed into Floridas Gulf Coast on Thursday night, destroying homes that had stood for decades.

Eleven people died in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis said on Saturday in the Gulf Coast city of Perry, which saw 15-foot storm surges, larger than those seen in other hurricanes in recent years.

In Horseshoe Beach, on Floridas Gulf Coast about 70 miles west of Gainesville, Charlene Huggins surveyed the debris of her blown-out house, pulling a jacket out of the rubble on Saturday.

Five generations lived in this house, from my grandmother, my father, myself, my daughter, son and my granddaughter, Huggins said, holding a chipped glass cake stand. So theres a lot of memories here. It just breaks your heart.

Charlene Huggins reacts outside her house, destroyed by Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Florida

Charlene Huggins, and her daughter-in-law, Katelyn Huggins, right, walk past the destruction on their street in the aftermath of Helene, in Horseshoe Beach

Remnants of Charlene Huggins damaged house are seen on the ground after Hurricane Helene

Five generations lived in this house, from my grandmother, my father, myself, my daughter, son and my granddaughter,Charlene Huggins said. So theres a lot of memories here. It just breaks your heart.

Crew members from Xylem Tree Experts walk to a staging area at Langley Pond Park in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Aiken, South Carolina

A Dominion Energy lineman works on a power line in the aftermath of Helene in North Augusta, South Carolina

Tommy Taylor, right, attempts to salvage equipment strewn across several lots after flooding in the aftermath of Helene in Old Fort, North Carolina. Taylor estimates hes lost over a million dollars in tools, vehicles and homes

A view of a home that was destroyed by fire as a result of storm surge as Hurricane Helene passed off shore in the Davis Islands neighborhood in Tampa, Florida

People fill their vehicless gas tanks and mobile tanks at an Exxon station off Highway 40 in Marion, North Carolina

Tommy Taylor looks inside at his 1972 Chevy Camaro for the first time in the aftermath of Helene in Old Fort, North Carolina

Flood-damaged road is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene

The southeastern United States has been plunged into crisis as the aftermath of Hurricane Helene continues to wreak havoc across multiple states

James Ellenburg reacts inside his house following Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Florida

James Ellenburg stood on the property where his own family has lived for four generations. I took my first step right here in this yard.

Not far away, James Ellenburg stood on the property where his own family has lived for four generations. I took my first step right here in this yard.

The roof of one home sat flat in the dirt, its walls blown away.

In coastal Steinhatchee, a storm surge - a wall of seawater pushed ashore by winds - of eight to 10 feet moved mobile homes, the weather service said.

In the nearby tiny community of Spring Warrior Fish Camp, people were surveying the damage on Saturday and still waiting for emergency or first responder aid.

No one thinks of us back here, said David Hall, as he and his wife dug through seagrass and dead fish in the office of the hotel they owned. 

Many of the communitys homes are built on stilts because of a local ordinance and survived heavy damage.

Kristin Macqueen was helping friends clean up after their house was destroyed in nearby Keaton Beach. 

Leslie Merian and her husband David Hall survey the damage to their home and hotel after Hurricane Helene passed through the Florida panhandle, in Spring Warrior Fish Camp, Florida

No one thinks of us back here, said David Hall, as he and his wife dug through seagrass and dead fish in the office of the hotel they owned

David Hall surveys the damage to his home and hotel after Hurricane Helene passed through 

Crews work to clean up the tons of sand and debris pushed onto Gulf Boulevard from Hurricane Helene storm surge, in Madeira Beach, Florida

A condominium swimming pool filled with sand from Hurricane Helene storm surge is seen in Madeira Beach, Florida

People view damage while workers clear debris from a bridge on Catawba Avenue in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Old Fort, North Carolina

Pfc. Davion Williams, with the Army National Guard, left, assists a resident with potable water in the aftermath of Helene in Old Fort, North Carolina

The power outages have sparked scenes of chaos, with desperate families lining up outside gas stations and reports emerging of roving mobs stealing generators

Its complete devastation. Houses have just been ripped off their slabs, she said.

Some of the worst rains hit western North Carolina, where almost 30 inches fell on Mount Mitchell in Yancey County, the National Weather Service reported.

Water washed over Lake Lure Dam in Rutherford County, and people in and around Chimney Rock described the villages downtown as washed out. 

Images showed accumulated mud and sediment, uprooted trees and snapped telephone poles, and buildings turned into debris.

Just to the south in eastern Tennessee, Greene County officials worried that the Nolichucky Dam was on the brink of failure, but the Tennessee Valley Authority reported late on Saturday that it was stable and secure.

Seventeen people, including children, died in Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp said after viewing damage in Valdosta.

Its tragic, U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters on Sunday, a day after declaring a major disaster in Florida. 

Biden also approved a disaster declaration for North Carolina, making federal funding available for affected individuals. 

You saw the photographs. Its stunning.