'There were bodies in the trees': Hurricane Helene death toll rises to 120, hundreds missing, millions without power

Hurricane Helene has left a path of death and destruction in its wake across six Southern states. At least 120 people are dead and officials warn that the total will likely go much higher when a more precise accounting of the disaster can be taken. There are hundreds of people missing: some may have perished in the storm but many more could just be unable to communicate with emergency workers or loved ones because power or communication is down.

The Carolinas were hit even worse than Florida, where Helene made landfall, and hundreds of roads have been demolished by broken trees and are littered with the remnants of fractured buildings. Others are still covered with water. The countless road closures make it even more difficult for search and rescue teams to find lost victims or to get food and water into the hands of those who have been deprived of essentials during the hurricane. More than two million homes and businesses have no power, according to poweroutage.us.

Alyssa Hudson’s home was in Black Mountain, North Carolina, around 12 miles from Asheville. She recalled seeing through social media posts how the floors of her home were caved in and the walls gone, and the home had been submerged up to its roof in flood water.

"There were bodies in trees. They were finding bodies under rubble," she told the New York Post.

In Helene's wake, there’s currently a medium risk of another tropical storm developing in the Caribbean or off the Gulf of Mexico by Friday. While it's too early to have an accurate accurate weather, Gulf Coast residents are advised to stay alert.

President Joe Biden has indicated that he wants to visit some of the towns and cities most heavily pulverized by Helene and will do so “as soon as it will not disrupt emergency response operations,” the White House said. Both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have delivered messages of condolence to the victims and are being briefed on the state of recovery efforts.

In a North Carolina county hard hit by Hurricane Helene, more than 1,000 people were reported as unaccounted for over the weekend. That number has fallen in the days following the storm. Helene demolished the small town of Steinhatchee, Florida, on Saturday, wiping it “off the map” in its path through the South.