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

Federal and state officials are rushing to airlift supplies to battered mountain communities in western North Carolina, where the storm left behind damaged water systems, washed-out roads and downed power lines.

Climate change is making hurricanes like Hurricane Helene more intense, scientific research shows. Helene has unleashed high winds, heavy rain and a dangerous storm surge in the Southeast after making landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane Thursday night.

Hurricane Helene, the most ferocious hurricane to hit the continental United States in decades, has left much of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and neigh