At least 63 people are killed and over 2.6 million people in ten states are without power as Helene leaves a trail of destruction in her wake.

People in five southeastern U.S. states are stranded, unhoused and awaiting rescue after devastating Hurricane Helene killed at least 63 people and caused massive power outages.

More than 2.6 million customers in 10 states from Florida in the southeast to Indiana in the Midwest were still without power as of the early hours of Sunday, according to the tracker poweroutage.us.

The National Weather Service said conditions would “continue to improve” on Sunday as it warned of possible “long-term power outages.”

Helene hit Florida on Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane and raced north, gradually weakening but leaving a trail of destruction: uprooted trees, downed power lines and homes damaged by mudslides.

The Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) announced Saturday that it had issued emergency declarations in six states — Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee — “to assist those states in preparedness and response efforts immediately following the to support Storm.” “.

Search and rescue teams conducted at least 600 rescue missions, FEMA said, adding that more than 3,200 of its personnel were deployed.

According to local authorities and media, at least 24 people died in South Carolina, 17 in Georgia, 11 in Florida, 10 in North Carolina and one in Virginia, according to the AFP news agency.

According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), remnants of the storm, now classified as a “post-tropical cyclone,” are expected to continue flooding the Ohio Valley and central Appalachians through Sunday.

In affected communities on the East Coast and Midwest, storm victims and volunteers with trash bags, mops and hammers tried to repair what they could and clean up the rest.

“There are only a few shops open. Your offer is limited. So I'm just worried about families with children and things like that getting shelter and food,” Steven Mauro, a resident of Valdosta, Georgia, told AFP.

In a statement Saturday, President Joe Biden called Helene's devastation “overwhelming.”

“It breaks my heart”

Helene blew into Florida's northern Gulf Coast with strong winds of 140 miles per hour (225 kilometers per hour). Even as it weakened into a post-tropical cyclone, it caused devastating damage.

Record-high flooding threatened to breach several dams, but Tennessee emergency officials said Saturday that the Nolichucky Dam – which was on the verge of breaking – was no longer in danger of giving way and people downstream could return home.

Massive flooding was reported in Asheville in western North Carolina. Gov. Ray Cooper called it “one of the worst storms in modern history” to hit the state.

There were reports of remote towns in the Carolina Mountains without power or cell service, their streets washed away or buried by mudslides.

In Cedar Key, an island town of 700 people off Florida's Gulf Coast, several pastel-colored wooden homes were destroyed by record-breaking storm surges and fierce winds.

“I've lived here my whole life and it breaks my heart to see this. “We haven’t really managed to get a break,” said Gabe Doty, a Cedar Key official, citing two other hurricanes last year.

In South Carolina, two firefighters were among the dead, officials said.

The 17 deaths in Georgia included an emergency responder, according to state officials.

In the city of Erwin, Tennessee, more than 50 patients and staff trapped on the roof of a hospital by the tsunami had to be rescued by helicopter.