In North Carolina, a Race to Provide Relief Amid an ‘Unprecedented Tragedy’

Raging floods and mudslides unleashed by the remnants of Hurricane Helene have dealt an “unprecedented tragedy” in the mountains of western North Carolina, leaving more than 30 people dead in the region and communities struggling to cope without power, cellphone service, water and food.

More than 400 miles from where it made landfall as a powerful hurricane, Helene has continued to wreak havoc across several states, with a death toll reaching more than 90 on Sunday. That toll could still rise as rescue workers reach stranded communities.

Some of the worst devastation was in western North Carolina, where authorities were racing on Sunday to find victims and rescue people, deliver supplies to paralyzed towns and restore damaged roads, cellphone towers, power lines and water systems.

In one hard-hit town, helicopters were dropping food from overhead at a church and a Harley-Davidson shop. North Carolina officials said more than 200 people have been rescued, including 119 people on Saturday by the National Guard. There were 45 search-and-rescue teams working, with help from 19 states and the federal government. Meanwhile, residents were scrambling to find basic necessities and cell service to reach family and friends.

Although the exact number remains unclear, at least 37 people have died in storm-related deaths in the state so far, officials said, in what they called a historic disaster. And that number may still grow.

“This is an unprecedented tragedy that requires an unprecedented response,” Gov. Roy Cooper said at a news briefing on Sunday afternoon.

In Buncombe County, N.C., which includes the devastated city of Asheville, Avril Pinder, the county manager, said that clear skies were helping search-and-rescue crews as they canvassed the area. “We are still trying to save every single person we can,” she said.

On Sunday afternoon, officials there said that the number of unaccounted people had fallen below 600. Earlier, Ms. Pinder said they had received about 1,000 reports of people unable to find family members, but she said that some were duplicates and that she was confident the numbers would drop as communication systems were restored.

It is common in the immediate aftermath of natural disasters that numbers of missing people swell as survivors become cut off from family members. For example, after a wildfire decimated the town of Lahaina on Maui last year, the list of the missing included more than 1,000 names, while the final death toll was 102.

“I know that there are a lot of people who are concerned about relatives and friends that they cannot get in touch with, and it’s one of the reasons we are pushing so hard to get communications back up, because we know that a lot of these people are just simply out of communication and are OK,” Mr. Cooper said.

Sheriff Quentin Miller of Buncombe County said he would not release the names of victims until family members can be notified, which has been difficult with communications down. “Our hearts are broken with this news,” he said. “We ask that folks give our community the space and time to grieve this incredible loss.”

With reports that people have been waiting in hourslong lines for gas, with tensions rising and arguments breaking out, Sheriff Miller said he would order more deputies to patrol business districts to prevent looting.

Mr. Cooper urged residents to stay off roads — hundreds were still closed in the state — and said the state was urgently trying to get supplies to affected areas, and would be setting up “mass-feeding sites.”

In many communities, the water systems were shut down, due to power outages and infrastructure damage, and residents were urged to boil water or use bottled water, if they could find it. In Weaverville, near Asheville, for example, the water plant was damaged by eight feet of rainwater, said Patrick Fitzsimmons, the town’s mayor. Officials in Asheville say that restoring the full system could take weeks.

Mr. Fitzsimmons added there was no water available in the community — either from shops or in people’s homes — and that roads were blocked by downed trees and power lines. One of the only businesses opened on Sunday was a pharmacy, he said, where residents could use the drive-through window to pick up prescriptions.

Meanwhile, in Swannanoa, where helicopters were dropping supplies, there were “complete neighborhoods that are no longer there,” said Anthony Penland, the chief of Swannanoa’s fire department. He said that a section of the main highway was gone, and that a key bridge would need to be repaired, which has been hampering his search-and-rescue teams.