Desperation and exhaustion in North Carolina days after Hurricane Helene deluge

The storm has upended life throughout the southeast (Mike Stewart/AP)

Desperate residents of the storm-battered mountains of western North Carolina lined up for water and food, hunted for mobile phone signals, and took buckets from creeks to flush toilets days after Hurricane Helene’s remnants deluged the region.

Exhausted emergency workers toiled around the clock to clear roads, restore power and phone service, and reach people stranded by the storm, which killed at least 150 people across the southeast, a toll expected to rise.