Recovery in the Southeast continues after Hurricane Helene

Briana Falduti of Asheville volunteers to help clean up Riverview Station in the River Arts District on Sunday, October 20, 2024, after the remnants of Hurricane Helene caused historic flooding in Asheville, NC.

A small U.S. flag flies outside the Bee Tree Christian Church in Swannanoa, NC, on Sunday, October 20, 2024. The church was destroyed by floodwaters when the remnants of Hurricane Helene hit the area.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg met with Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers, center, local leaders and business owners in Canton, October 17, 2024, in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene.

Rancho Tree Service of Bakersfield, California, a sub contractor with Ashbritt, helps clear debris vegetation in Anderson County along Brown Road Extension in Belton, South Carolina, USA, Thursday, October 17, 2024.

Pieces of I-40 are seen near the Pigeon River, October 17, 2024, in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene.

Sarah Briggs, natural landscape crew leader, moves fallen trees blocking a hiking trail inside of The North Carolina Arboretum on Oct. 17, 2024 in Asheville. Workers have been clearing trees every day since Tropical Storm Helene in order to reopen the grounds.

Edzui “Mr. Edge” Szumowski performs a juggling act during a performance of the Venardos Circus at Lucy S. Herring Elementary School in West Asheville, N.C., on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. Venardos Circus performed a free presentation for students and neighborhood families in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene.

The Elder family, of West Asheville, applaud during a performance of the Venardos Circus at Lucy S. Herring Elementary School in West Asheville, N.C., on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. Venardos Circus performed a free presentation for students and neighborhood families in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene.

A debris removal truck from Rock Hill, helping clear fallen trees after Tropical Storm Helene, arrives with vegetation at Starr Landfill in Starr, South Carolina, USA, Wednesday, October 16, 2024. City and County bring their vegetation cleared from Tropical Storm Helene to the one pile, and with months more of clearing fallen trees and limbs, the pile is just the beginning said Anderson County Supervisor of Sold Waste Dean Brown.

Ashley Pierce, the staff senate president of Northeast State Community College in Blountville, hands gallons of donated water to a Tennessee State Guardsman while volunteering at Bristol Motor Speedway on Monday, October 14, 2024. The speedway has become the Northeast Tennessee Disaster Relief Center, which serves the nine Tennessee counties affected by Hurricane Helene flooding by distributing donated items to regional distribution centers and community partners.

Teacher welcome students back to Richmond Hills Elementary School on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. Richmond County schools reopened their doors to in-person learning today after Hurricane Helene.

Swannanoa residents, David Donald, and his wife, Kate Donald, stand inside their home that was damaged from the remnants of Hurricane Helene.

Diana Munoz, Greenville City Police Public Information Officer and officer TJ Moore help collect food at the "Fill the Cruiser" event for the Greenville Humane Society and Greenville County Animal Care, a Helene relief drive collecting pet food near the ticket office of Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, USA, Wednesday, Oct 16, 2024.

Stuffed animals and belongings sit on a mailbox on Oct. 16, 2024 in Swannanoa, N.C. as the state recovers from the devastation caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene.

Volunteers help clear the debris on Oct. 16, 2024 after devastation caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene in Swannanoa, N.C. Flood waters reached the roof in this area.

Brittany Howard sits in the tailgate of a borrowed car with her daughter Lucy, 1, as she waits for her husband Kevin to return Wednesday Oct. 16, 2024. The young family’s home was severely damaged during Hurricane Helene, with both of their vehicles also totaled.

Recovery efforts are underway on Oct. 16, 2024, in downtown Marshall, N.C., which was left devastated by flood damage brought by the remnants of Hurricane Helene.

“We will not be broken,” is spray-painted on a boarded window in downtown Marshall, N.C., which was left devastated by flood damage brought by the remnants of Hurricane Helene.

Junior Sydney Wells hugs school social worker Hailey Davis as students return to class at Madison High School on Oct. 16, 2024 for the first day since flood damage brought by the remnants of Hurricane Helene devastated the town of Marshall, N.C.

Destroyed possessions are piled up outside of homes in Swannanoa, N.C., on Oct. 16, 2024. Located outside of Asheville, Swannanoa was one of the areas hit hardest by the remnants of Hurricane Helene, which landed in the state as a tropical storm.

After Mark Dempsey's home in Swannanoa, N.C., was destroyed by Tropical Storm Helene, his friends arrived to help gut it on Oct. 16, 2024. He hopes to rebuild.

Sisters Megan and Miranda Escalante called for a moratorium on evictions in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene during a protest outside the Buncombe County Courthouse in Asheville, N.C. Oct. 16, 2024.

Whitley English, center, a member of Just Economics, called for a moratorium on evictions in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene during a protest outside the Buncombe County Courthouse in Asheville, N.C. Oct. 16, 2024. Just Economics was one of the groups that organized the march.

Running water returns to the Swannanoa, N.C. home of Sherry Vaughan on Oct. 13, 2024, two weeks after damage caused by the tropical storm winds and rain brought by the remnants of Hurricane Helene cut off the utility from her neighborhood.

Justice Rogers discusses his volunteer work at the Swannanoa Library on Oct. 13, 2024, helping bring supplies to his community during the aftermath of flood damage in North Carolina caused by the tropical storm winds and rain brought by the remnants of Hurricane Helene. “The one thing I do is remember to be kind, to be patient, to be loving and to be human. We’re all in the same soup line, so it’s a great time to get back to being our best selves," said Rogers.

Mikal Bonilla runs the water in her kitchen sink on Oct. 13, 2024 as the service returns to her Swannanoa rental home for the first time in two weeks after flood damage in North Carolina caused by the tropical storm winds and rain brought by the remnants of Hurricane Helene.

Volunteers Bryan Debuc and Lylah Bannister clean up mud from the Riverview Station building on Oct. 12, 2024 after floods from Tropical Storm Helene damaged the building in Asheville, N.C.

David Brown-Chavez and his sister Lucy Brown-Chavez carry buckets with water collected from a creek to be used to flush toilets in their apartment complex near the community of Spruce Pine, N.C. on Oct. 11, 2024. The siblings had been without water for two weeks after Tropical Storm Helene devastated the mountain communities.

Brett Sanders, an Anderson County Councilman uses a forklift at sunrise as the Anderson County Sheriff's Office loads farming supplies in a Tropical Storm Helene relief effort at the Anderson Regional Airport in Anderson, S.C. Saturday, October 12, 2024. A caravan of supplies collected at several farm supply stores in the county for a week before delivering them by truck and trailers to the Ag Center in Canton, N.C. Saturday.

Volunteers clear debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Marshall, NC, on Oct. 10, 2024.

Evan Cummins, a company commander in the 101st Airborne Division for the U.S. Army, clears debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Marshall, NC, on Oct. 10, 2024.

Allen Glick, 19, from Pennsylvania, cleared water out of a residential building after Hurricane Helene in Marshall, NC, on Oct. 10, 2024.

Debris sits along Rollins Road after Tropical Storm Helene in Marshall, NC, on Oct. 10, 2024.

Debris sits following flooding in Judy Gosseline’s trailer in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Marshall, NC, on Oct. 10, 2024.

Cody Rice clears items from a home on Rollins Road in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Marshall, NC, on Oct. 10, 2024.

Hot Springs Resort and Spa sits damaged in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Marshall, NC, on Oct. 10, 2024.

Hot Springs Resort and Spa sits damaged in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Marshall, NC, on Oct. 10, 2024.

The downtown area remains damaged after Hurricane Helene, which hit Marshall, NC, on Oct. 10, 2024.

Volunteers clear debris during the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Marshall, NC, on Oct. 10, 2024.

The downtown area remains damaged Oct 10, 2024, in Hot Springs, NC, during the aftermath of flood damage in North Carolina caused by the tropical storm winds and rain brought by the remnants of Tropical Storm Helene.

Debris from Bruce Tipton’s, a 75-year-old man who died in the flood, home remains Oct 10, 2024, in Marshall, NC, during the aftermath of flood damage in North Carolina caused by the tropical storm winds and rain brought by the remnants of Tropical Storm Helene.

Crews work to stabilize the closed Whitson Avenue Bridge on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 in Swannanoa, NC damaged by the flooding of Hurricane Helene. The Asheville region is coping with the aftermath of flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene. HeleneÕs swath of destruction brought historic rainfall, flooding, power outages and 140-mile-an-hour winds across the Southeast. North Carolina the bore the brunt of damage, with vast swaths of cities like Asheville underwater, residents trapped in their homes with no lights or food and few functioning roads for rescue workers to help them.

A house sits damaged on Oct 8, 2024, in Asheville, NC, during the aftermath of flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene. Helene's swath of destruction brought historic rainfall, flooding, power outages and 140-mile-an-hour winds across the Southeast. North Carolina the bore the brunt of damage, with vast swaths of cities like Asheville underwater, residents trapped in their homes with no lights or food and few functioning roads for rescue workers to help them.

A house sits damaged on Oct 8, 2024, in Asheville, NC, during the aftermath of flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene. Helene's swath of destruction brought historic rainfall, flooding, power outages and 140-mile-an-hour winds across the Southeast. North Carolina the bore the brunt of damage, with vast swaths of cities like Asheville underwater, residents trapped in their homes with no lights or food and few functioning roads for rescue workers to help them.

Members of the Indiana Task Force 1 Search and Rescue team search for a missing woman along the Buck Creek in Lake Tahoma, N.C. on Oct. 2, 2024. Her fiancee was also swept into the flood in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, but was rescued.

Skip Stanley, who was volunteering the in the Lower Beacon neighborhood, shovels mud from a home that flooded during Hurricane Helene in Swannanoa, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024.

Joi McPherson, right, hugs her brother-in-law, Thomas Hall, as they remove items from her home which flooded during Hurricane Helene in Swannanoa, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024.

Debris litters the area surrounding the Swannanoa River during the aftermath of flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene on Oct. 3, 2024.

A Pensacola (NC) fire engine is hauled out of a pit after being swept away in flood waters during the aftermath of flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene on Oct 4, 2024.

Damage on the seventh day after Hurricane Helene struck was extensive. Workers from Haughland Energy, Badger Infrastructure, and other companies, worked along Meadowbrook Dr, in the Meadowbrook, south Augusta, Ga., neighborhood, Saturday, October 5, 2024.

Volunteers fill cars with supplies at Biltmore Baptist, NC to provide aid to residents in the area during the aftermath of flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene on Oct 6, 2024.

The Arts District in Asheville, along the French Broad River, begins clean up during the aftermath of flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene on Oct 6, 2024.

Firefighters from the Charlotte Fire Department take some time to go to mass at the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville, North Carolina, on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, during the aftermath of flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene. Helene’s swath of destruction brought historic rainfall, flooding, power outages and 140-mile-an-hour winds across the Southeast. North Carolina that bore the brunt of damage, with vast swaths of cities like Asheville underwater, residents trapped in their homes with no lights or food and few functioning roads for rescue workers to help them.

Jeremy Burton signals to a backhoe operator as a downed tree is cleared from his residence as a result of Hurricane Helene, Sunday, October 6, 2024 in Hephzibah, Ga.

The nearly 1 mile long road road along the Swannanoa River, devastated from Hurricane Helene floods, cut off the residents of Eastmoor Drive in East Asheville, a neighborhood with about 105 homes, after the only road into the community was washed out by the Swannanoa River on Oct. 6, 2024. The community has banded together with managing the resources and coordinating the needs of the neighborhood through two daily meetings, building an improvised road to connect the community to secondary means of moving people in and out of the community and hosting community concerts and gatherings.

Waste Management employees pick up storm debris from Hurricane Helene on Siesta Dr. on Siesta Key, as Hurricane Milton approaches.

Piles of ruined furniture, drywall, personal belongings and other debris line a side street in Holmes Beach on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, ahead of Hurricane Milton. The linger debris is from Hurricane Helene which made landfall on Sept. 26, 2024.

Judi Woods, a resident of Fort Myers Beach packs up her house as she prepares to evacuate because of Hurricane Milton on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. She lost everything in Hurricane Ian in 2022 and had major damage in Hurricane Helene on Sept. 26.

Madeline Stoddart helps pick up rubble left from flooding from Hurricane Helene on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, at Wedge Brewing Co. in the River Arts District in Asheville, N.C.

Power crews work along Riverside Drive in the destroyed River Arts District in the aftermath of flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene on Oct. 1, 2024. HeleneÕs swath of destruction brought historic rainfall, flooding, power outages and 140-mile-an-hour winds across the Southeast. North Carolina that bore the brunt of damage, with vast swaths of cities like Asheville underwater, residents trapped in their homes with no lights or food and few functioning roads for rescue workers to help them.

Gina Hemp fills the generator for her house with gasoline following damage from Hurricane Helene on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Spruce Pine, N.C. ÒWe were 20 feet from losing our house,Ó Hemp said.

Tomato plants in ruin on a farm in Embreeville, Tenn. on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024 in the aftermath of Helene.

Destroyed homes are seen across the Broad River in Chimney Rock, NC after Hurricane Helene, October 7, 2024.

Bubba OÕLearyÕs on Main Street in Chimney Rock, NC after Hurricane Helene, October 7, 2024.

Lisa Briggs, director of emergency and disaster management at Western Carolina University, director of the university's cadaver dog training program, Walnut fire department volunteers and Omna, a 5-year-old full German Shepherd, a cadaver dog, paddle close to the edge at French Broad River in Asheville during a search operation on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, during the aftermath of flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene.

Gov. Roy Cooper walks on Memorial Highway with Lake Lure, NC Mayor Carol Pritchett following the devastation from Hurricane Helene, October 7, 2024.

Pontoon boats are piled together on Lake Lure in Asheville, N.C. following Hurricane Helene, October 7, 2024.

A crew cleans up trees and a damaged home on Folger Street in Clemson, S.C. after Tropical Storm Helene Tuesday, October 8, 2024.

A crew from the South Carolina Department of Transportation uses chainsaws and a front-end loader to clear YMCA Camp Road in Cleveland, S.C. on Monday October 7, 2024. The road leading to Camp Greenville and the Fred W. Symmes Chapel, known as Pretty Place, was left impassable by Hurricane Helene.