Desperate residents of the storm-battered mountains of western North Carolina lined up for water and food, hunted for cellphone signals and slogged buckets from creeks to flush toilets days after Hurr

Helene was a Category 4 hurricane that made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region on Thursday. According to the New York Times, its impact extended into Tennessee and caused 600 miles of destruction.

Caravans of food, water and supplies were moving into western North Carolina on Monday as residents and local officials grappled with devastation never before seen in the region. The big picture: Hurricane Helene has left officials in six Southeastern states struggling to respond to the widespread destruction it caused after hitting Florida as a Category 4 storm last week,