Watch live: President Biden gives update on Hurricane Helene response as North Carolina faces “biblical destruction”

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Louise Thomas

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At least 116 people have been killed and hundreds more remain missing after Hurricane Helene slammed into the southeast states, bringing catastrophic flooding to communities and plunging thousands into darkness.

In one hard-hit county in North Carolina – Buncombe County – at least 30 have died and fears are growing for around 600 people reported missing.

“We have biblical devastation through the county,” said Ryan Cole, a county emergency official. “This is the most significant natural disaster that any one of us has ever seen.”

Deaths have also been reported in Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and Tennessee, since Helene made landfall in Florida last week and charted a deadly path through the US. In Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp said the state “looks like a bomb went off.”

Now, with millions left without power, communications cut off and hundreds of roads in and out of the Carolinas closed due to damage, officials have warned of the challenges of getting crucial supplies such as water to those in need.

Donald Trump has announced he will visit the storm-ravaged swing state of Georgia on Monday while President Joe Biden will visit impacted communities at a later date.