Recovery efforts underway in North Carolina as Helene death toll tops 250 across 7 states

Nearly three weeks after Helene swept through the Southeast, many communities are still reeling from its impacts as the extent of its devastation is coming into focus.At least 251 people are dead from Helene’s devastation across seven states. Some families continue to live without water or power, describing their situation as camping inside their own homes, according to FOX Weather Correspondent Katie Byrne.The lack of infrastructure has forced some people to retrieve water from nearby rivers and streams with buckets so they may use the water to flush their toilets.Roads are left impassable, making access to some areas nearly impossible. In some cases, bridges are built out of debris, and helicopters are used to reach isolated areas.Power outages persist, with most of them being in North Carolina. As of Monday afternoon, a little more than 18,000 residences and businesses in the Tar Heel State were still without power.HELENE KILLS 11 MEMBERS OF THE SAME FAMILY AFTER MUDSLIDE DESTROYS THEIR COMMUNITYNorth Carolina is also where most Helene-related fatalities occurred. At least 123 deaths were attributed to Helene in the state, and that number is expected to rise.At least 72 of those deaths occurred in Buncombe County, North Carolina, the home of dozens of communities hard hit by Helene. Officials are still in the midst of recovery efforts, looking for missing individuals inside cars, damaged homes and where debris has gathered downstream.HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHERTo assist those impacted by Helene, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed a disaster relief package for efforts that are expected to take years.