Supplies, emergency workers rushed to North Carolina while Florida digs out from Helene's damage

PERRY, Fla. (AP) — The U.S. Southeast grappled Sunday with rising death tolls, lack of vital supplies in isolated, flood-stricken areas and widespread loss of homes and property while the devastating toll of Hurricane Helene became clear to officials who warned of a lengthy and difficult rebuild.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Sunday that the death toll of 11 in the state was expected to rise from Hurricane Helene as rescuers and other emergency workers reached areas isolated by collapsed roads, failing infrastructure and widespread flooding.

Cooper, speaking at a press conference, said “we know there will be more” deaths and he asked residents to avoid traveling on roadways in western North Carolina not only to avoid dangers but to keep roads clear for emergency vehicles. More than 50 search teams have fanned out across the region in search of stranded people.

“Many people are cut off because the roads are impassable,” he said. Supplies were being airlifted to the region around Asheville, a city tucked in the western North Carolina mountains known for its arts, culture and natural beauty.

The rescue efforts included saving 41 people in one mission north of Asheville and an infant. The teams were finding people through both 911 calls and messages on social media, North Carolina Adjutant General Todd Hunt said.

The storm upended life throughout the Southeast. Authorities were rushing to airlift supplies and restore communications and roads in flooded Asheville, North Carolina, on Sunday as residents along the storm-battered Florida coast gathered for church services.

Hurricane Helene roared ashore in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday with winds of 140 mph (225 kph).

From there, it quickly moved through Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp said Saturday that it “looks like a bomb went off” after viewing splintered homes and debris-covered highways from the air. Weakened, Helene then soaked the Carolinas and Tennessee with torrential rains, sending creeks and rivers over their banks and straining dams.

More than 60 people have been killed in total. Several million people were without power as of Sunday afternoon.

In Texas, Jessica Drye Turner begged for someone to rescue her family members stranded on their rooftop in Asheville, surrounded by rising flood waters. “They are watching 18 wheelers and cars floating by,” Turner wrote in an urgent Facebook post on Friday.

But in a follow-up message, which became widely circulated on social media on Saturday, Turner said help had not arrived in time to save her parents, both in their 70s, and her six-year-old nephew. The roof had collapsed and the three drowned.

“I cannot convey in words the sorrow, heartbreak and devastation my sisters and I are going through nor imagine the pain before us,” she wrote.

Western North Carolina was isolated because of landslides and flooding that forced the closure of Interstate 40 and other roads. There have been hundreds of water rescues, none more dramatic than in rural Unicoi County in East Tennessee, where dozens of patients and staff were plucked by helicopter from a hospital rooftop Friday.

The storm hovered over the Tennessee Valley into Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said.

It unleashed the worst flooding in a century in North Carolina. One community, Spruce Pine, was doused with over 2 feet (0.6 meters) of rain from Tuesday through Saturday.

The state is sending water supplies and other items toward Buncombe County and Asheville, but mudslides on Interstate 40 and other blocked highways are preventing the supplies from making it. The county’s own supplies of water were on the other side of the Swannanoa River, away from where most of the 270,000 people in Buncombe County live, officials said.

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 sheriff said.

“If you will bear with us and be patient one more day — I hate to say that but I know how desperate water is in our community — but we are pushing as hard as we can to get them up the mountain,” Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder said.

In Florida's Big Bend, some lost nearly everything they own, emerging from the storm without even a pair of shoes. With sanctuaries still darkened in a county where as of Sunday morning, 97% of customers were without power, some churches canceled regular services while others like Faith Baptist Church in Perry opted to worship outside.

Standing water and tree debris still covers the grounds of Faith Baptist Church. The church called on parishioners to come “pray for our community” in a message posted to the congregation’s Facebook page.

“We have power. We don’t have electricity,” Immaculate Conception Catholic Church parishioner Marie Ruttinger said. “Our God has power. That’s for sure.”

In Atlanta, 11.12 inches (28.24 centimeters) of rain fell over 48 hours, the most the city has seen over two days since record keeping began in 1878.

In Augusta, in eastern Georgia near the border with South Carolina, officials notified residents Sunday morning that water service would be shut off for 24 to 48 hours in the city and surrounding Richmond County. A news release said trash and debris from the storm “blocked our ability to pump water.” Officials were distributing bottled water at the municipal building and said each household would receive one case.

President Joe Biden said Saturday that Helene’s devastation has been “overwhelming” and pledged to send help. He also approved a disaster declaration for North Carolina, making federal funding available for affected individuals. Dozens of utilities crews from New England states were also headed south to help with recovery.

Federal funding will be critically important for rebuilding local communities, Sen. Marco Rubio said during an appearance on NBC's Meet The Press.

“There are some coastal areas, some of which are now facing their third storm in the last 12 months,” Rubio said.

With at least 25 killed in South Carolina, Helene is the deadliest tropical cyclone for the state since Hurricane Hugo killed 35 people when it came ashore just north of Charleston in 1989. Deaths also have been reported in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.

Moody’s Analytics said it expects $15 billion to $26 billion in property damage. AccuWeather’s preliminary estimate of the total damage and economic loss from Helene in the U.S. is between $95 billion and $110 billion.

Among the 11 confirmed deaths in Florida were nine people who drowned in their homes in a mandatory evacuation area on the Gulf Coast in Pinellas County, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said.

Climate change has exacerbated conditions that allow such storms to thrive, rapidly intensifying in warming waters and turning into powerful cyclones sometimes in a matter of hours.

Helene was the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average season this year because of record-warm ocean temperatures.

Associated Press reporters Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine, and Haya Panjwani in Washington contributed. Collins contributed from Columbia, South Carolina.

An aerial view of flood damage along the Pigeon River left by Hurricane Helene, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Newport, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

An aerial view of flood damage along the Pigeon River left by Hurricane Helene, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Newport, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Fallen pine trees litter the grounds of Waukeenah Methodist Church in Monticello, Fla. on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Kate Payne)

A group from St. Augustine, Fla. that arrived to help storm victims, who did not want to give their names, walk to the damaged First Baptist Church to pray in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Chris Jordan, maintenance manager for Horseshoe Beach, tries to find a water shutoff valve amid the rubble of the destroyed city hall in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

A group from St. Augustine, Fla. that arrived to help storm victims, who did not want to give their name, pray outside the damaged First Baptist Church in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Chris Jordan, maintenance manager for Horseshoe Beach, tries to find a water shutoff valve amid the rubble of the destroyed city hall in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Chris Jordan, maintenance manager for Horseshoe Beach, tries to find a water shutoff valve amid the rubble of the destroyed city hall in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

A group from St. Augustine, Fla. that arrived to help storm victims, who did not want to give their names, pray outside the damaged First Baptist Church in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

A group from St. Augustine, Fla. that arrived to help storm victims, who did not want to give their names, pray outside the damaged First Baptist Church in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

A loose dog walks past a group from St. Augustine, Fla., who did not want to give their name, that arrived to help storm victims, as they walk to pray outside the damaged First Baptist Church in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

A group from St. Augustine, Fla. that arrived to help storm victims, who did not want to give their names, walk to the damaged First Baptist Church to pray in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Joe Daum looks at the remains of a friend's home that burned during Hurricane Helene on Davis Island Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

Ellie Moss, along with family and friends cleans contents of her home after flooding from Hurricane Helene on Davis Island Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

Contents of homes are piled on the side of the road after flooding from Hurricane Helene on Davis Island Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

A home site destroyed by flood water is seen Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Newport, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Volunteers from convoyofhope.org wait for fellow volunteers before they open a food distribution operation in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Perry, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

A person crosses River St. where flood damage is seen Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Newport, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

People walk along River St. flood damage is seen Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Newport, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Jonah Wark, right, kisses his wife Sara Martin outside their flood-damaged home on the Pigeon River in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Newport, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Dustin Bentley, center, kisses his wife Jennifer Bentley, left, after retrieving family photos from their flood-damaged home in the aftermatch of Hurricane Helene as his mother Janet Sams looks on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Newport, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

The ruins of city hall are seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Flood damage is seen inside a home along River Rd., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Newport, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tammy Bryan, left, hugs fellow resident Jennifer Lange amid the destruction in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Frankie Johnson, left, and her husband, Mark Johnson, talk with fellow resident Charlene Huggins, right, amid the destruction in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Ashlie Salliotte, left, hugs Janet Sams, right, at Sams' flood-damaged home along River Road, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Newport, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Jennifer Lange, center, walks amid the destruction in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Residents walk amidst the destruction in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Charlene Huggins, and her daughter-in-law, Katelyn Huggins, right, walk past the destruction on their street in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

John Taylor puts up an American flag on his destroyed property in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Volunteers Chelsea Marchant and her daughter Remi, along with Brennan Cordery, center, and Lynnlee Stratton, all of Dixie County, carry donations in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Gloriana Cherry, left, recovers possessions from her family's destroyed home, along with Shannon Lee, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

An American flag flies over the destroyed city hall in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)

Destruction is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)

Dennis Johnson cleans out debris from his mother-in-law's heavily damaged home in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

People move debris from a damaged home in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)

A flood damaged building left by tropical depression Helene is seen in Newport, Tenn., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Residents clean contents of their home after flooding from Hurricane Helene on Davis Island Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

Boats sit after being pushed ashore by floodwaters from Hurricane Helene on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

Elsie Hicks looks at the destruction of the home she has loved in for 25 years, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon killed dozens of people on Sunday as the Hezbollah militant group sustained a string of deadly blows to its command structure, including the killing of its overall leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah confirmed Nabil Kaouk, the deputy head of the militant group's Central Council, was killed on Saturday, making him the seventh senior Hezbollah leader slain in Israeli strikes in a little over a week. They include founding members who had evaded death or detention for decades.

Hezbollah had earlier confirmed that Ali Karaki, another senior commander, died in Friday's strike that killed Nasrallah.

Israel says at least 20 other Hezbollah militants were killed in the strike, including two close associates of Nasrallah, one of whom was in charge of his security detail.

Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes and drones carried out deadly strikes across Lebanon on Sunday. The Lebanese health ministry said two consecutive strikes near the southern city of Sidon, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) south of Beirut, killed at least 24 people. Separately, Israeli strikes in the northern province of Baalbek Hermel, 21 people were killed and at least 47 injured.

The Israeli military said it carried out another targeted strike on Beirut on Sunday, but did not immediately provide details.

Lebanese media reported dozens of strikes in the central, eastern and western Bekaa and in the south, besides strikes in Beirut. The strikes have targeted buildings where civilians were living, and the death toll was expected to rise.

In a widely circulated video of a strike in Sidon, verified by The Associated Press, a building swayed before collapsing as neighbors filmed the strike. On one TV station, the broadcaster called on viewers to pray for a family caught under the rubble, posting their pictures, as rescuers failed to reach them. The Lebanese health ministry reported Sunday that at least 14 medics were killed in two days in the south.

Meanwhile, wreckage from the strike on Friday that killed Nasrallah was still smoldering. AP journalists saw smoke over the rubble as people flocked to the site, some to check on what’s left of their homes and others to pay respects, pray or simply to see the destruction.

In response to the dramatic escalation in Israeli strikes on Lebanon, Hezbollah significantly increased its attacks in the past week, from several dozen to several hundred daily, the military said. The attacks injured several people and caused damage, but most of the rockets and drones were intercepted by Israel’s air defense systems or fell in open areas.

The army says its strikes have degraded Hezbollah’s capabilities and the number of launches would be much higher if Hezbollah had not been hit.

Also on Sunday, the Israeli military said dozens of aircraft struck Houthi targets in Yemen in response to a recent attack on Israel. The military said it targeted power plants and sea port facilities in the city of Hodeida.

The Houthis launched a ballistic missile attack on Ben Gurion airport on Saturday when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was arriving. The Houthi media office said the Israeli strikes hit the Hodeida and Rass Issa ports along with two power plants in Hodeida city, a stronghold for the Iranian-backed rebels. Four people were killed and 33 wounded, Houthi-run media reported.

The Houthis claimed they took precautionary measures ahead of the strikes, emptying oil storages in the ports, according to Nasruddin Ammer, deputy director of the Houthi media office. He said in a post on X platform the strikes won’t stop the rebels’ attacks on shipping routes and on Israel.

Meanwhile, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Israel's airstrikes in Lebanon had “wiped out” Hezbollah’s command structure, but he warned the group will work quickly to rebuild it.

“I think people are safer without him walking around,” Kirby said of Nasrallah. “But they will try to recover. We’re watching to see what they do to try to fill this leadership vacuum. It’s going to be tough. … Much of their command structure has now been wiped out.”

Kirby, who spoke on CNN’s “State of the Union,” sidestepped questions about whether the Biden administration agrees with how the Israelis are targeting Hezbollah leaders. The White House continues to call on Israel and Hezbollah to agree to a 21-day temporary cease-fire that was floated by the U.S., France and other countries last week as world leaders gathered for the U.N. General Assembly.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday appointed a former rival, Gideon Saar, as a member of his Cabinet. The move expands Netanyahu’s governing coalition and helps entrench the Israeli leader in office.

Under their agreement, Netanyahu said Saar would be given a spot in the Security Cabinet, the body that oversees management of the ongoing war.

Saar had hoped to replace Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, another rival of Netanyahu’s. But a deal to become defense minister fell through after fighting intensified with Hezbollah.

Earlier this month, Hezbollah was also targeted by a sophisticated attack on its pagers and walkie-talkies that was widely blamed on Israel. A wave of Israeli airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon have killed more than 1,030 people — including 156 women and 87 children — in less than two weeks, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been driven from their homes in Lebanon by the latest strikes. The government estimates that around 250,000 are in shelters, with three to four times as many staying with friends or relatives, or camping out on the streets, Environment Minister Nasser Yassin told the AP.

Hezbollah has continued to fire rockets and missiles into northern Israel, but most have been intercepted or fallen in open areas. No Israelis have been killed since the latest wave of strikes targeting top Hezbollah leaders began on Sept. 20.

Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group and political party backed by Iran, Israel’s chief regional rival, rose to regional prominence after fighting a devastating monthlong war with Israel in 2006 that ended in a draw.

Kaouk was a veteran member of Hezbollah going back to the 1980s and served as Hezbollah's military commander in southern Lebanon during the 2006 war with Israel. He often appeared in local media and gave eulogies at the funerals of senior militants. The United States announced sanctions against him in 2020.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza triggered the war there. Hezbollah and Hamas are allies that consider themselves part of an Iran-backed “Axis of Resistance” against Israel.

The conflict has steadily ratcheted up to the brink of all-out war, raising fears of a region-wide conflagration.

Israel says it is determined to return some 60,000 of its citizens to communities in the north that were evacuated nearly a year ago. Hezbollah has said it will only halt its rocket fire if there is a cease-fire in Gaza, which has proven elusive despite months of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas led by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press reporters Natalie Melzer in Tel Aviv, Aamer Madhani in Washington, Samy Magdy in Cairo and Jack Jeffery in Jerusalem contributed.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

A man stands on the rubble of buildings near the site of the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A man walks on rubble at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

People check the site of the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A woman sleeps on Beirut's corniche after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Children sit in a motorcycle cart in Beirut's Martyrs' square after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A boy sleeps in Beirut's Martyrs' square after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A family sleep on the ground in Beirut's corniche area after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

An elderly man stands near al-Amin Mosque in Beirut's Martyrs' square after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

People gather at the site of the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Families sleep on Beirut's corniche after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A man stands on the rubble of buildings near the site of the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A destroyed building at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A woman cares for her newborn girl, Fatima, in Beirut's Martyrs' square after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

People gather near the site of the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

People check the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A hole in the ground near the site of the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A man walks on rubble at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)