https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly5d9y07e3oHurricane Helene leaves 'biblical devastation' in North Carolina
Hurricane Helene has left "biblical devastation" in parts of North Carolina, officials say, after it tore across five south-eastern US states and left more than 60 people dead.
A clearer image of the destruction in hard-hit North Carolina emerged on Sunday, where, after barrelling through Florida and Georgia, Helene brought torrential rain and swamped towns with flooding and mudslides.
More than 400 roads are closed in the state, where 11 people have died. Homes have been destroyed, towns have been cut-off, water systems are down and hundreds of thousands are without power.
"This storm has brought catastrophic devastation... of historic proportions," Governor Roy Cooper said.
The American Red Cross has opened more than 140 shelters for those in south-eastern states who evacuated their homes. More than 2,000 people are in the shelters, the organisation said on Sunday.
In North Carolina's Buncombe County, Sheriff Quentin Miller said around 1,000 people were still unaccounted for.
“We have biblical devastation through the county,” said Ryan Cole, an emergency official for the county, which contains the mountain city of Asheville. "This is the most significant natural disaster that any one of us has ever seen."
Asheville, which is home to about 94,000 people and is a popular tourist destination, was largely cut off by flooding on Saturday after Helene ripped through the region as a tropical storm.
