Hurricane Helene's Devastation: Lives in turmoil, Leaders survey damage

Survivors of Hurricane Helene are trying to rebuild their lives amidst widespread damage in the U.S. Southeast. President Biden and Vice President Harris are surveying the damage, while search-and-rescue teams seek unaccounted-for individuals. Power outages and lack of water affect many, and recovery is expected to be a multibillion-dollar effort spanning years.

Survivors of Hurricane Helene struggle to piece their lives back together as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris plan to survey the damage on Wednesday. The storm has killed at least 162 people after tearing through the U.S. Southeast.

Many residents in the western Carolinas have no running water nearly a week after Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane. Approximately 1.2 million homes and businesses remain without power in Georgia and the Carolinas, according to Poweroutage.us.

Biden is scheduled to visit North and South Carolina, including an aerial tour of Asheville, North Carolina, where 57 people have died. Harris, amid a presidential campaign, will travel to Georgia and North Carolina, two hard-hit states and key election battlegrounds. Trump visited Georgia on Monday.

High-profile visits come as federal, state, and local officials brace for what U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said will be a 'multibillion-dollar undertaking' lasting years.

For now, search-and-rescue teams continue to comb through wreckage and deliver aid amidst washed-out roads, smashed bridges, and downed power lines. In Swannanoa, Jessica Dixon's father is believed to have been swept away by floodwaters.

In Clyde, North Carolina, Matt Hartwiger evacuated his home when flood sirens wailed. Within hours, the Pigeon River reached the second floor of his house. His family is now sheltering in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Asheville resident Rachel Simpson considers herself lucky with only minor damage but struggles without water to bathe, wash clothes, or flush toilets. Water is being sourced from friends as city officials anticipate at least four weeks until water services return.

West Asheville brewer Harrison Fahrer highlights the struggles of businesses, noting that without water, brewing and paying bills are impossible.

State Climatologist Andrew Joyner described the event as a 'perfect storm,' with conditions leading to unprecedented rainfall in western North Carolina.

(With inputs from agencies.)