BAT CAVE, NORTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 3: A relief group from Hendersonville prepares for a mission in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on October 3, 2024 in Bat Cave, North Carolina. The group was tasked with clearing roads and checking on people isolated because of the storm. The death toll has topped 140 people across the southeastern U.S. due to the storm, according to published reports, which made landfall as a category 4 storm on Thursday. Millions are without power and the federal government has declared major disasters in areas of North Carolina, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and Alabama, freeing up federal emergency management money and resources for those states, according to the reports. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)