Boats remain ashore after being pushed ashore by floodwaters from Hurricane Helene on Saturday in St. Petersburg, Florida. Mike Carlson/Associated Press

PERRY, Fla. — The Southeast grappled Sunday with a rising death toll, a shortage of necessities in isolated, flood-stricken areas and widespread loss of homes and property as Hurricane Helene’s devastating toll became clear to officials who warned of a prolonged and difficult reconstruction.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Sunday that the state’s death toll of 11 was likely to rise as rescuers and other emergency workers reached areas isolated by collapsed roads, broken infrastructure and widespread flooding.

“We know there will be more deaths,” Cooper said at a news conference, asking residents to avoid traveling on roads in western North Carolina, not only to avoid dangers but also to keep roads clear for emergency vehicles. More than 50 search teams spread across the region looking for stranded people.

“Many people have been cut off from work because the roads are impassable,” he said. Supplies were airlifted to the area around Asheville, a city in the mountains of western North Carolina known for its arts, culture and natural beauty.

Rescue efforts included the rescue of 41 people during one mission north of Asheville, as well as an infant. Teams found people through both 911 calls and social media messages, said North Carolina Adjutant General Todd Hunt.

The storm upended life in the Southeast. Authorities rushed to resupply airlift supplies and restore communications and roads to flooded Asheville as residents of Florida’s storm-battered coast gathered for religious services.

Hurricane Helene roared ashore in Florida’s Big Bend region late Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 120 mph.

From there, it quickly made its way through Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp said Saturday that it “looked like a bomb went off” after seeing from the air the shattered homes and debris-strewn highways. The weakened Helene then flooded the Carolinas and Tennessee with heavy rains, causing creeks and rivers to overflow their banks and straining dams.

More than 60 people died. By Sunday afternoon, several million people remained without electricity.

In Texas, Jessica Drye Turner pleaded for someone to save her family members who were stranded on a roof in Asheville, surrounded by rising floodwaters. “They are watching 18 wheeled vehicles and cars go by,” Turner wrote Friday in an urgent Facebook post.

But in a follow-up message that spread widely on social media on Saturday, Turner said help did not arrive in time to save her 70-year-old parents and 6-year-old nephew. The roof collapsed and all three drowned.

“I cannot put into words the sadness, heartbreak and devastation that my sisters and I are going through, nor can I imagine the pain that lies ahead,” she wrote.

Western North Carolina was isolated due to landslides and flooding that forced the closure of Interstate 40 and other roads. There have been hundreds of underwater rescues, none more dramatic than in rural Unicoi County in eastern Tennessee, where dozens of patients and staff were taken from a hospital rooftop by helicopter on Friday.

The National Hurricane Center said the storm hovered over the Tennessee Valley through Sunday. In North Carolina, it caused the worst flooding in a century. One community, Spruce Pine, received more than 2 feet of rain from Tuesday through Saturday.

The state is sending supplies of water and other products to Buncombe and Asheville counties, but mudslides on Interstate 40 and other blocked highways are preventing the delivery. Officials said the county’s own water sources were across the Swannanoa River, away from where most of Buncombe County’s 270,000 residents live.

Law enforcement planned to send officers to locations where there was still water, food or gas due to reports of arguments and threats of violence, the sheriff said.

“If you will bear with us and be patient for one more day – I hate to say this, but I know how desperately water is lacking in our community – but we are committed to getting them over the top,” Buncombe County, said manager Avril Pinder.

In Big Bend, Florida, some people lost almost everything they owned, emerging from the storm without even a pair of shoes. As it remained dark at sanctuaries in the county, where 97% of customers were without power as of Sunday morning, some churches canceled regular services and others, like Faith Baptist Church in Perry, opted for outdoor worship.

Standing water and tree debris still cover the Baptist Church grounds. In a message posted on the parish’s Facebook page, the church called on parishioners to “pray for our community.”

“We have the power. We don’t have electricity,” said Marie Ruttinger, a parishioner of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. “Our God is powerful. That’s for sure.”

Atlanta received 11.12 inches of rain in 48 hours – the most the city has seen in two days since records began in 1878.

In Augusta, in eastern Georgia near the South Carolina state line, officials notified residents Sunday morning that water service would be shut off in the city and surrounding Richmond County areas for 24 to 48 hours. The press release said trash and debris from the storm “impeded our ability to pump water.” Officials distributed bottled water at a municipal building and said each household would receive one case.

President Biden said Saturday that the damage to Helene was “overwhelming” and announced he would send aid. He also approved a disaster declaration for North Carolina, making federal funds available to those affected by the disaster. Dozens of utility crews from New England states also traveled south to help with the recovery.

Federal funding will be critical to rebuilding local communities, Sen. Marco Rubio said during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet The Press.”

“Some coastal areas are now facing their third storm in the last 12 months,” Rubio said.

Helene is South Carolina’s deadliest tropical cyclone, killing at least 25 people since Hurricane Hugo in 1989 killed 35 north of Charleston. Fatalities were also reported in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.

Moody’s Analytics said it expected between $15 billion and $26 billion in property damage. AccuWeather’s preliminary estimate of total damage and economic losses from Helene in the U.S. ranges from $95 billion to $110 billion.

Among Florida’s 11 confirmed deaths were nine people who drowned in their homes in a mandatory evacuation area on the Gulf Coast in Pinellas County, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said.

Climate change has exacerbated the conditions that allow such storms to develop, intensifying rapidly in warming waters and sometimes turning into powerful cyclones within hours.

Helene was the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began on June 1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average hurricane season this year due to record warm ocean temperatures.

Collins reported from Columbia, South Carolina. Associated Press writers Patrick Whittle in Portland and Haya Panjwani in Washington contributed.

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