As the southeastern U.S. continues recovery efforts following the devastation of Hurricane Helene, the storm’s death toll continues to rise, with more than 100 deaths in several states, Joe Biden said Monday.

The president said he plans to visit the Helene-affected areas on Wednesday or Thursday as long as it does not disrupt rescue and recovery operations.

In recent days, the president has pledged federal aid to help with recovery efforts — and said his administration is giving states “everything we have” to help with their response to the storm.

“It’s not just a catastrophic storm. It is a historic storm that makes history,” Biden said Monday morning. He added that “damage from the hurricane extends to at least 10 states.”

“We will be there, as I said before, for as long as it takes to get this job done,” Biden noted.

The president also said that not only has the death toll from the storm surpassed 100, but that approximately 600 people are currently missing and cannot be contacted due to power and telephone outages.

“God willing, they’re still alive,” Biden said. “I have instructed my team to deliver all available resources to the communities as quickly as possible to rescue, recover and rebuild,” he added.

More than 1 million Americans were still without power in the Carolinas and Georgia on Monday morning.

Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida last Thursday evening as a Category 4 hurricane. And although the storm weakened to a tropical storm before moving through Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee, the winds, rainfall, storm surge and flooding caused destruction of the storm entire communities that came in its path.

On Monday morning, the Associated Press reported that at least 90 people had died in several states as a result of the storm. Thirty of the deaths were reported from the western North Carolina city of Asheville, which became isolated Saturday by damaged roads and a lack of electricity and phone service amid a deluge caused by Helene.

Officials in Buncombe County — which includes Asheville — also said last weekend that they had about 600 Report missing persons via an online form. Rescue missions continued there on Monday.

On Sunday, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety said supplies such as food, water and other needs were arriving in Asheville. The state’s National Guard also transported supplies to counties in western North Carolina, officials said.

“This is an unprecedented tragedy that requires an unprecedented response,” said North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper.

Over the weekend, more than 500 National Guard soldiers helped conduct more than 100 rescue operations in western North Carolina, officials there said. At least 119 North Carolina residents and their pets were rescued.

Cooper has said the death toll in North Carolina could rise as rescuers and other responders reach other isolated and devastated areas. More than 50 search teams are spread across the region looking for stranded people, he said.

He has urged residents in western North Carolina to avoid travel, largely so roads can remain clear for emergency responders.

According to the state’s transportation department website, all roads in western North Carolina are currently considered closed and non-emergency travel is prohibited.

On Monday morning, Cooper appeared on CNN and said hundreds of roads had been destroyed — and entire communities had been “wiped off the map.”

“We have to make sure we get in there and be smart about rebuilding and do it in a resilient way,” he said. “But right now we are focused on saving lives and delivering goods to people who desperately need them.

“Many communities are completely cut off. And besides, the rivers are still rising, so the danger is not over yet, the flooding is probably not over yet.”

The University of North Carolina-Asheville said this weekend that classes would be suspended until Oct. 9 because of the storm damage. The school said parts of the campus were inaccessible and described “significant tree damage”.

“Mobile and internet coverage is non-existent at this time,” the school also said Saturday, adding that they were providing safety, food, water and comfort to students who remained on campus.

According to the Associated Press, the storm caused the worst flooding in North Carolina in a century.

On Sunday on CBS News, Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), described the flooding in North Carolina as “historic,” adding, “I don’t know that anyone can be fully prepared for the magnitude of the flooding and its consequences. landslides they are now experiencing.

“We’re sending more search and rescue teams there,” Criswell said.

As of Monday morning, more than 700,000 homes in South Carolina were without power — including more than 500,000 in Georgia and 400,000 in North Carolina, according to Poweroutage.us.

In Florida’s Tampa Bay region, the death toll from the hurricane reached nine people on Sunday. All of the deaths occurred in a mandatory evacuation zone, Pinellas County officials said.

In Augusta, Georgia, which suffered extensive damage from the storm, officials are urging residents to limit water use to “just the next 24 to 48 hours” — a temporary effort to aid recovery efforts. the water supply in the area.

State officials in South Carolina have announced 25 storm-related deaths in the state so far, according to the Post and Courier, and many South Carolinians are still without power.

The National Weather Service office in Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina, described the weekend’s storm as the “worst event in our office’s history” in a Facebook post addressed to residents of western North Carolina and northeastern Georgia .

“We are devastated by the horrific flooding and widespread wind damage caused by Hurricane Helene in our forecast area,” the message said. “There are no words to express our sadness at the loss of life and the incredible impact on property.”

The American Red Cross announced that it had opened or supported more than 140 shelters across the United States for nearly 9,400 people displaced from their homes by the storm.

And AccuWeather estimates that Hurricane Helene caused between $145 billion and $160 billion in property damage and economic losses.

Kamala Harris will also reportedly visit Helene-affected areas this week, as will her opponent in the November 5 presidential election, Donald Trump.