North Carolina mounts massive search and rescue operation in wake of Helene

Paula Williams helps a friend clean out their home that had been flooded by Hurricane Helene, in Steinhatchee, Florida, U.S., September 29, 2024. REUTERS/Kathleen Flynn

BAT CAVE, North Carolina (Reuters) -Crews on Monday airlifted emergency food and water into remote North Carolina towns that were cut off and devastated by tropical storm Helene that turned the western part of the state into a "post apocalyptic" landscape.

Helene was a hurricane when it slammed into the Florida Gulf coast on Thursday, tearing a destructive path through southeastern states for days on end, ripping up roads, tossing homes about and severing lines of communication. In its wake, hundreds of people were unaccounted for and many feared dead.