Southeast grapples with loss and destruction as Helene leaves over 60 dead, traps families and knocks out power

Communities in the Southeast are grappling with widespread devastation after Helene made landfall as the strongest hurricane on record to slam into Florida’s Big Bend region Thursday and tore through multiple states, killing at least 61 people, knocking out power to millions and trapping families in floodwaters. In hard-hit North Carolina, days of unrelenting flooding have turned roads into waterways, left many without basic necessities and overloaded state resources. Here’s the latest: