Hurricane Helene has continued to cause destruction and claim lives in the Southeast since Thursday night when it made landfall, leaving a combined death toll of 132 and nearly 600 missing as of Monday.
The catastrophic aftermath that became fully apparent on Monday left a scene of utter devastation with homes shattered, cargo containers crushed and highways engulfed in mud, according to The Associated Press. Infrastructure failures in Western North Carolina have plunged the area into crisis, cutting off roads and disrupting power and communications, forcing residents to queue for fresh water and to send messages to their loved ones to confirm that they were alive.
