Millions of homes and businesses remain without power across the Southeast as the region reels from the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and its remnants. Hundreds of water rescues have taken place across Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Virginia since Helene's brutal landfall in Florida's Big Bend area late Thursday.

Hurricane Helene caused extensive damage in the western part of North Carolina. See the map of power outages caused by the storm.

Travel in and out of much of Western North Carolina is nearly impossible after heavy rains and flooding battered the state in the path of Hurricane Helene. The intense storm made landfall Thursday night and roared through parts of Florida,