The death toll from Hurricane Helene has risen to 200 as rescuers continue to search for survivors of the storm that hit the southeastern US.
They accounted for more than half of the deaths in North Carolina, where entire communities were displaced and destroyed by the deadliest hurricane since Katrina in 2005.
It is reported that hundreds of people are missing and nearly a million homes are without electricity in a week after the storm hit.
The death toll comes as President Joe Biden continues his two-day trip to Florida and Georgia on Thursday.
Biden got an aerial tour of the damage in Tallahassee, Florida, on Thursday when the storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane last week.
The president authorized federal disaster relief for survivors in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
There are tens of thousands of people without running water in North Carolina, which saw some of the worst effects of the storm especially in the mountainous Asheville area.
“I feel like I just survived the apocalypse,” Nicole Rojas, who lives in Vilas, North Carolina, told the BBC.
Hundreds of roads remain closed, hampering efforts to send aid to hard-hit communities.
South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia also recorded deaths from the storm.
An elderly couple died in bed when a tree fell on their home in South Carolina, their grandson told The Associated Press. He said they were found hugging.
North Carolina prisons on Wednesday moved 800 inmates due to lack of power and water, according to the state Department of Corrections. More than 2,000 prisoners were transferred to other prisons earlier this week.
Family members of the prisoners told the newspaper Asheville Citizen-Times newspaper that they have been unable to communicate with their loved ones for a week.
Across the US Southeast, more than 933,000 customers remained without power Thursday, according to Poweroutages.us.
More than 6,700 members of the Army and Air National Guard from 16 states are helping with the ground response, according to the National Guard.
The president has deployed 1,000 troops to help with relief efforts.
On Wednesday, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris visited North Carolina and Georgia respectively.
Biden said the federal government will pay 100% of all emergency response and cleanup costs in North Carolina for six months. He will do the same in Georgia and Florida in the next 90 days.
Former president Trump visited the damaged areas in Georgia earlier in the week.
More rain is expected in the coming days along parts of the Gulf Coast and Florida, which could complicate recovery efforts.
The Atlantic hurricane season lasts until the end of November.
US Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas warned earlier in the week that if another hurricane hits the US in the coming months, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will struggle to provide assistance.
“FEMA doesn’t have the money to finish the season and what – what’s next,” Mr. Mayorkas told reporters earlier in the week, referring to another hurricane that hit the US this season.
The Biden administration sent more than 8.8 million meals, 7.4 million gallons of water, 150 generators and 225,000 tarps to the region, Mr. Mayorkas said.
There are currently two hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricane Kirk, currently a Category 3 storm, is expected to cause dangerous surfing conditions in Florida and the Caribbean islands, but is not expected to make landfall in the US. Tropical Storm Leslie is not currently a threat to the US.
Brandon Dranon contributed to this report.