After Helene: Hope And Help Arrive, But There's Still A Long Way To Go

H​ope and help have arrived in areas devastated by Helene, with some communities starting to rebuild and others wondering if they'll ever come back.

“It sounds stupid to say this, but I didn’t realize it would be like bombs going off,” Asheville resident Brenton Murrell said. “It’s like a war zone.”

Like many, Murrell's neighborhood was strewn with mud and debris. A military Osprey aircraft whirred overhead as he spoke.

As residents grapple with the destruction, searches continue and the toll rises. So far, the deaths of 236 people in six states are being blamed on Helene, including at least 118 in North Carolina.

W​hat To Know About Fall Travel After Helene

S​ome popular fall travel destinations may be closed or operating under limited hours or services. Western North Carolina, including Asheville, remains in a state of emergency amid catastrophic damage. There is no non-essential travel.

A​s of Friday, the full length of the Blue Ridge Parkway between North Carolina and Virginia was closed. Great Smoky Mountains National Park and surrounding areas are open for business, although several roads and trails are closed.

W​eather Podcasters Come Together To Help

C​arolina Weather Group, a weekly podcast covering North Carolina and South Carolina, teamed up with several other popular weather podcasts to host a telethon for Hurricane Helene relief. The Co-hosts were Weather Brains, Chaser Chat and Storm Front Freaks, which includes weather.com senior graphics meteorologist Dina Knightly.

I​t aired on YouTube on Sunday, with donations going to the American Red Cross.

D​ozens of groups and organizations are collecting funds and supplies for Hurricane Helene relief. We've compiled a short list here.

D​olly Parton Makes Huge Donation To Her Home State

On Friday, country music legend and Tennessee native Dolly Parton visited Newport, Tennessee, where she announced that she would be donating $1 million to Helene relief efforts. Parton said her businesses including Dollywood Parks & Resorts would donate another $1 million. Parton said “There are a lot of people hurting right now, and I can’t stand to see people hurting. These are my people.”

Both donations will go to the Mountain Ways Foundation, a non-profit organization that’s providing immediate assistance to flood victims. The singer made the announcement in the parking lot of a Walmart store, where the company’s president and U.S. CEO John Furner said the Walmart Foundation would be donating $10 million to hurricane relief efforts across all the impacted states.

Popular F​lorida Beach Town Bans Tourists

H​olmes Beach, Florida, instituted a 45-day ban on vacation rentals after Helene. The town is on popular Anna Maria Island, which sits on the south side of Tampa Bay. Like other barrier islands in the area, much of it was left covered in feet of sand.

Most ground-floor structures on the island were also flooded by storm surge.

T​he island includes the towns of Holmes Beach, Anna Maria and Bradenton Beach.

Bradenton Beach is the hardest hit of the three, with parts of the only through street washed out and an estimated 90% to 95% of the town severely damaged.

H​undreds Of Thousands Without Electricity

D​uke Energy delivered a 100-ton mobile substation to one neighborhood in Asheville, with the hopes of restoring power to at least some of its 6,700 residents over the weekend.

“They’re hurting, so we want to get their power on as quickly as possible,” Duke spokesperson Bill Norton told the Charlotte Observer.

-​About 153,000 in North Carolina.

-About 79,000 in Georgia.

-​About 55,000 in South Carolina

-​Around 3,000 in Florida.

H​undreds Still Missing

Officials in Buncombe C​ounty, North Carolina said about 200 people were still unaccounted for as of Thursday afternoon. Those who haven't heard from a loved one have several avenues to request help, including the Buncombe County Family Assistance Center.

“We know these are hard times, but please know we’re coming," Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller said. “We’re coming to get you. We’re coming to pick up our people.”

F​acebook pages dedicated to reunification are still seeing dozens of posts everyday from people asking for help contacting family or friends they haven't heard from since before the storm.

O​fficials caution that while the death toll is still rising, it's also possible that many people simply don't have a way to communicate.

H​ealth Impacts Mounting

M​any communities lack access to clean water, doctors and pharmacies are closed or operating with limited services and emergency crews may not be able to arrive if help is needed.

Floodwaters can carry a host of dangers, too. In coastal areas in particular, warm saltwater can carry a bacteria called vibrio vulnificus. Also known as 'flesh-eating bacteria' cases spiked in Florida after Hurricane Ian in 2022.

B​ut even people far away could feel the health impacts of Helene. The American Hospital Association says a plant that manufactures 60% of the country's supply of IV solutions was flooded and is closed.

H​elene has led to the cancelation of blood drives across the Southeast, according to the Red Cross. The agency urges anyone outside of affected areas to donate if they can.

M​ORE ON WEATHER.COM

-Airlifting Dogs And Cats From Asheville's Ruins 'Is Everything'

-​On The Ground In Asheville

-​Cars Buried In Sand On Tampa Bay Area Beaches

(​Information from the Associated Press was used in this report)

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