Helene Death Toll Tops 200, Continues To Rise

As the Swannanoa River rose in East Asheville, North Carolina, Heather Talley, her partner and 7-year-old daughter climbed for their lives.

"And it was dark, and it was the height of the hurricane. So the winds were blowing ... trees were falling. And our daughter was just screaming," Talley told weather.com in an interview Monday.

"And we just went on our hands and knees through the mud. I just kept telling my daughter, 'You can do this, you can do this, you can do this.'"

H​elene, previously a Category 4 hurricane, swirled around them. The water from the normally shallow river roared like an ocean.

(​WATCH: 'We Have To Climb': Dramatic Evacuation From Asheville Flood)

Talley and her family stopped at a neighboring house on higher ground not normally adjacent to the river. Strangers there on vacation took them in. She texted her brother to ask him to go online and check the water levels.

"He told me that the river gauges were broken and that there was no way to know," Talley said.

It was 10 a.m. Friday morning. Talley went back outside.

"And I could see what looked like the Mississippi River about 10 feet below the house," she said. "And I came back in and I told my partner, 'We're not high enough.'"

T​hey climbed to another house above them. Again, strangers took them in.

(​WATCH: Scenic Lake Lure ‘Post-Apocalyptic’ After Helene)

O​utside, a neighbor watched another neighbor wash away in a car.

"And as the winds died down and the rain stopped, as many people who are physically able came out of their houses," Talley said. "And there were trees everywhere. And people just started cutting up the trees to try to make pathways out.

Talley, her partner and daughter made it to a friend of her brother's in another town. By Monday, they were staying with relatives.

A​s for Asheville, she said: "We are not okay."

(​READ: The Astounding Numbers From Hurricane Helene)

The death toll from H​urricane Helene rose Friday to more than 200 people in 6 states, including at least 96 in North Carolina. That makes Helene one of the top three deadliest hurricanes in 50 years behind Katrina and Maria.

T​ennessee Factory Workers Swept Away

A​t a plastics factory in rural Tennessee, workers continued their jobs as Helene's drenched the Southeast. Eventually, workers were released and sent home but it was too late for some. Eleven workers were swept away by raging floods and only five were rescued. Two of the missing have been confirmed dead meaning four workers are unaccounted for. One worker who managed to exit the area despite the raging storm shared video of the scene at Impact Plastics on Facebook.

M​an Walks 17 Miles To Daughter's Wedding

D​ave Jones was about 20 miles from home - and his daughter's wedding - when a police roadblock stopped him. They said he couldn't drive any farther. It was around 2:30 a.m. Saturday in Unicoi County, Tennessee, shortly after Helene roared through the area.

Nearby, more than 50 people had to be rescued off a hospital roof. Roads were destroyed. Bridges were gone.

His drive had started in Boiling Spring, South Carolina, about earlier. Normally, the whole drive takes about two hours.

“I said, ‘You don't understand. My daughter is getting married at 11 o'clock this morning and I'm gonna be there to walk her down the aisle,'" Jones told weather.com in an interview Monday.

H​e set out on foot. Along the way he climbed over and through piles of debris. A shoe came off in the mud. He stared into raging water below a washed-out bridge on Interstate 26.

A​ state trooper gave him a short ride. So did an acquaintance who happened to see him walking near home.

I​n the end, Jones walked 17 miles in about 5.5 hours. And he made it to the wedding.

Y​ou can hear their story and see photos here.

T​he Long Road To Cleanup

It could take Asheville and other communities years to recover.

The storm brought catastrophic flooding, tornado damage, downed trees and other impacts from Florida into Appalachia.

Some parts of western North Carolina were cut off by mudslides and flooding, prompting officials on Monday to send in supplies, food and water via air. And across the Southeast, many communities are in recovery mode due to significant damage.

Here are our live updates from Monday:

(5:35 p.m. ET) Asheville Resident Who Evacuated: ‘We Couldn’t Reach Loved Ones’

From weather.com senior news editor Dave Siff:

Kelly Palmatier and her family have lived in West Asheville for 10 years, and they got lucky when Helene blew through; their basement flooded, but otherwise the house escaped unscathed.

Their sump pump was working at first, but “within 30 minutes of the power going out, we had our water alarms going off indicating that the flood water in the basement was rising,” Palmatier told weather.com in an interview Monday.

With fallen trees blocking all but one small access point to their neighborhood, no cell service - “we couldn’t reach loved ones to tell them we were safe” - and water possibly out “for weeks, with an ‘s’,” Palmatier and family evacuated to her sister’s house north of Atlanta.

She’s organizing a fundraiser on Facebook and doing what she can to help remotely, with no plans to go home until utilities are restored.

“We really need to just play it by ear and see where can we put the least amount of strain on the community, and where can we be of the best value to the community.”

Y​ou can hear the full interview here.

(​5:17 p.m. ET) Small Florida Town Accessible Only By Foot

Vehicle traffic to B​radenton Beach, Florida, remains cut off after the small town on Anna Maria Island took a hard hit from Helene. Feet of water and sand washed damaged the main road, Gulf Drive.

“Gulf Drive is under about three feet of sand for the entire length of the city,” Bradenton Beach Police Chief John Cosby told the Anna Maria Island Sun after Helene passed. “The road underneath the sand has buckled so there are areas where there is no road. We also have sinkholes. The dunes and the beach are gone. We have structural damage to properties, houses that shifted on their foundations, and a lot of flooding."

Access to the island's other two towns - Holmes Beach and Anna Maria Island - has been fully restored but clean up efforts continue and a curfew is in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

T​he narrow barrier island sits on the southern edge of Tampa Bay and is a popular tourist destination.

H​omes and businesses were also flooded in the nearby fishing village of Cortez.

(4:41 p.m. ET) 14 Bridges Closed, Five Destroyed Throughout Tennessee

Flooding destroyed five state bridges across Tennessee, and 14 others are closed, Patrick Sheehan, the state’s emergency management agency director, reported. Sheehan also told the Associated Press that he expects Tennessee’s death toll to rise from three as recovery efforts continue.

(4:22 p.m. ET) Hospitals Across The Southeast Work To Address Patients Without Power

Hospitals in Helene’s path have been operating on generators for days as the storm's victims show up in their emergency rooms for help. Others have shut their doors completely due to flooding.

All but one of South Georgia Medical System’s buildings regained power Monday. Flooding shut down Laughlin Healthcare Center in Greenville Tennessee, as well as Unicoi County Hospital in Erwin, Tennessee, the Associated Press reported.

(3:33 p.m. ET) South Carolina Leads In Most Power Outages From Helene

Power outages still hover around 2 million Monday afternoon and stretch from Florida to Ohio, according to PowerOutage.us. South Carolina has the most outages, with more than 716,000 customers still without power. More than 195,000 of those outages are concentrated in Greenville County.

Georgia is not far behind, with more than 550,000 customers in the dark, and North Carolina has more than 409,000 customers without power around 3 p.m. Monday.

(2:39 p.m. ET) Images Show Destroyed Homes, Roads Throughout The Southeast And Appalachia

Photos from North Carolina show the devastation residents in the state are dealing with. Helene crumbled homes and washed away roads, leaving behind huge piles of debris. See more photos in our slideshow.

(​2:31 p.m. ET) Another Death Confirmed

A​ third death has been confirmed in Tennessee. Further details weren't immediately available, but state officials said the person died in Knox County. Two other deaths were reported earlier in Johnson and Unicoi counties.

(​1:47 p.m. ET) Helene Is One Of The Modern Era's Deadliest Hurricanes

Helene has officially reached a grim milestone as one of the deadliest U.S. hurricanes in modern history, according to data from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

Only seven hurricanes since 1980 have killed more than 100 people.

Maria tops the list with 2,981 confirmed deaths. Katrina is second with an official count of 1,833.

Behind them in current order comes Sandy, Ian, Rita, Helene and Ike.

(​1:19 p.m. ET) Military Relief Flight Lands At Asheville Airport

A​ U.S. Air Force C-130 landed at Asheville Regional Airport about 30 minutes ago. A social media post from the airport says the plane is carrying supplies from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"​The first of more to come ... A beautiful and welcome sight!" the post reads.

"The airport team continues to work around the clock - many living at the airport away from their families - to keep the airport operational for this lifeline of supplies to be able to arrive,"

P​eople are being asked not to come to the airport, but to wait for official distribution points to be announced.

W​hile some commercial flights to the airport have resumed, state officials are asking travelers to avoid the area.

(​1:03 p.m. ET) How To Help

I​t could take some communities years to recover from the disaster of Helene. FEMA says the best way to help is with cash. While supplies might be needed, too, make sure any donations go only to a coordinated, well-organized effort by a reputable organization. We've compiled a short list here of organizations accepting cash contributions to help Helene victims.

(12:25 p.m. ET) All Roads Closed In Western North Carolina

The state Department of Transportation says all roads in Western North Carolina are considered closed and non-emergency travel is prohibited. Many other roads in the state are also impacted.

"I-40 is impassable in multiple locations. I-26 is closed at the Tennessee state line," an alert at the top of the state's online road closure map says. "There are many closed roads that are not listed on this site as many areas are not able to report at this time."

H​ere are our updates from earlier today:

D​eath Toll Rises

A​t least 42 people are now confirmed dead in North Carolina, 29 in South Carolina, 25 in Georgia, 15 in Florida, two in Tennessee and one in Virginia.

'​The Devastation Is Unthinkable'

"​We know we have areas in Fairview, Black Mountain, Swannanoa and Barnardsville where the devastation is unthinkable. These communities no longer resemble what they were a week ago," said B​uncombe County Manager Avril Pinder. "Loved ones are still trapped."

Buncombe County officials said they had received 1,000 reports of people unaccounted for though that number had dropped to 600 by Monday morning, officials told CBS 17. The number was originally anticipated to drop as cell and internet service was slowly restored. It's unclear how many people may truly be missing and how many people are simply cut off from contact with their loved ones. County officials told people to stay away from the area. “Do not come here, we can not accommodate you.”

O​n Sunday morning, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced that President Joe Biden approved his request for a Federal Major Disaster Declaration, providing immediate federal help for the western North Carolina region. This declaration is in addition to the federal emergency declaration that was in place before Tropical Storm Helene hit the state.

T​he National Weather Service Office in Greenville and Spartanburg also shared a heartfelt message on Twitter to residents of the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia, saying no words could express their sorrow for the devastation and loss of life.

Flood Emergency In Asheville

As Helene barged inland, western North Carolina faced devastating flooding with some areas submerged under feet of water. Other neighborhoods were isolated by standing water or mudslides. “Over 400 roads remain closed in North Carolina,” the North Carolina Department of Transportation said Saturday. “All roads in Western NC should be considered closed.”

The National Guard and local first responders were entrenched in rescue missions as many people were stranded. Search teams were guided by information given in 911 calls and in messages via social media. One rescue mission involved the rescue of 41 people north of Asheville. Another rescue mission was launched to save an infant child. More than 50 search teams were spread throughout the region to search for stranded people.

One woman told the Associated Press that her family in the Asheville area has been unreachable. “I think that people are just completely stuck, wherever they are, with no cell service, no electricity,” she said.

Pinder promised food and water supplies would be airlifted to the county, where Asheville is located, by Monday.

S​unday night, residents of Black Mountain, North Carolina, were alerted to a possible failure of the Bee Tree Dam. That warning was later rescinded after a FEMA inspection of the dam confirmed its safety.

F​ederal Government, New York State Offer Assistance

P​resident Biden has pledged assistance from the federal government calling the devastation "overwhelming." FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell was in Georgia on Sunday and planned to visit North Carolina Monday. New York governor Kathy Hochul said Monday that the New York State Incident Management Team was heading to Asheville to assist with recovery efforts.

Power Outages Significant

Nearly 2 million homes and businesses remained without power across the Southeast entering the new week, according to PowerOutage.us. But at the peak, more than double that number of homes and businesses were without power.

Georgia Electric Membership Corp. reports that 100 high-transmission lines were lost in the state. Duke Energy, with many customers in North Carolina, say linemen are out working to reconnect service for homes and businesses.

The Associated Press reports that, in South Carolina, crews had to cut their way through debris before they could even assess the damage in some places.

(M​ORE: Landslides Cut Off Popular North Carolina Waterfall)

Big Bend Region Hit Hard

The Big Bend region in Florida was another of the hardest-hit areas. Many residents in the region found their homes or roads completely washed away. Some coastal and island towns like Cedar Key endured storm surge flooding in excess of 15 feet above the ground.

By Saturday and Sunday, some residents and business owners were allowed to return to beach communities and barrier islands like Treasure Island, Clearwater Beach and St. Pete Beach. Pinellas County offered bus services to others who wanted to leave the barrier islands where many were still without power and running water on Sunday.

Landfall Tracked On Satellite

Helene was a huge storm. Tropical-storm-force winds extended over 300 miles out from the center just before landfall. The storm’s landfall and path was tracked on satellite from space. You can watch it here.

Helene’s Historic Trek

Here’s a look at some of Helene’s eye-popping stats:

-Strongest hurricane landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region.

-Third hurricane to make landfall there in 13 months.

-Estimated peak surge of 10.33 feet in Cedar Key appeared to break a record dating back to a hurricane in 1896.

-More than a foot of rain fell in parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Nearly 30 inches was recorded near Busick, North Carolina.

(​Weather.com producer Joy Kigin contributed to this report.)

Weather.com reporter Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.