Hurricane Helene will rank among the deadliest hurricanes to strike the mainland United States in the past 50 years – and the death toll, which is already over 100, will likely continue to climb.

Hurricane Katrina tops the list with at least 1,833 fatalities from the storm and subsequent flooding. Hurricane Ian, which struck southeast Florida in 2022, caused 150 direct and indirect fatalities.

Helene is currently third on the list, already surpassing Hurricane Irma from 2017, which killed 92 in the US, mostly in Florida.

Hurricane Harvey and Superstorm Sandy resulted in between 60-75 fatalities in the US.

Note: This list only includes mainland US hurricanes, so Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico is not included.

The death toll in Buncombe County, North Carolina, is already at 30 people and is expected “to go much higher,” Weaverville Mayor Patrick Fitzsimmons told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on CNN News Central Monday morning.

Weaverville, a city of about 5,000 people located 10 miles north of Asheville in Buncombe County, is in a heavily forested area, and hundreds of huge trees fell down as Helene moved through, destroying the power infrastructure, Fitzsimmons said. Officials there expect power, water and cell service to be out for at least a week, he said.

Water is the greatest concern right now, Fitzsimmons said. The water treatment plant is down, and there is no commercial or retail water available in the city. In addition, roads were washed out, hampering recovery efforts and deliveries, although some water came in by helicopter on Sunday, he said.

Fitzsimmons said the large-scale destruction from Helene also had a small-scale, personal impact on him.

“A huge oak tree in my backyard came down on my house as well, and I miss that old oak tree,” he said. “It was a great tree.”

More than 100 people have died due to Hurricane Helene as of Monday, marking a grim milestone that reflects the storm’s widespread devastation.

The death toll confirmed by CNN on Monday morning stands at 102.

The most recent fatalities include five deaths reported in Henderson County, along with the death of a sheriff’s deputy in Macon County who was swept away by the storm. North Carolina is the state with the highest fatalities, with 42 people confirmed dead.

The Macon County Sheriff’s Office identified their fallen deputy as courthouse security officer Jim Lau, whose truck was overtaken by flooding during his lunch break Friday.

“He was known to be a hard worker, dependable, and he jumped in wherever help was needed,” the sheriff’s office posted on Facebook. “His absence will truly be felt in our agency.”

Short on supplies, short on power and short on patience, the people who saw the brutal force of a massive storm upend their lives have emerged to a new week, facing the daunting challenge of rebuilding. Some of the roads and bridges they need to do the job aren’t there anymore. Electricity could be a week away or longer. Emergency services are stretched. Communications infrastructure is in shreds. And neighbors, some of whose own homes are gone, are helping neighbors – all the while worrying about the fate of those from whom they haven’t heard.

At least 97 people have died across six states and officials believe there could be more. So far, state and county officials said 36 people died in North Carolina, 25 in South Carolina, 17 in Georgia, 11 in Florida, four in Tennessee andtwo in Virginia. Hundreds have been reported missing, perhaps unable to leave their location or unable to contact family, with phone and internet service still spotty in some hard-hit communities.

Helene’s path of destruction stretched more than 500 miles, from coastal Florida to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Ravaged by the storm, the historic North Carolina mountain community of Asheville is now isolated as hundreds of roads in the Carolinas remain closed, hampering the delivery of badly-needed supplies — and making it difficult to get people out.

More than 2 million customers remain without power, according to PowerOutage.us. Power companies are dealing with damaged and blocked roads as they work to restore power to homes and businesses.

President Joe Biden will visit some of the affected communities later this week, “as soon as it will not disrupt emergency response operations,” the White House said Sunday evening. He will speak Monday morning at the White House about federal efforts underway to speed resources to where they are needed. The president approved disaster relief and has been in contact with the governors where the damage was most severe.

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It had been 48 hours since the winds and rains from Hurricane Helene ripped through western North Carolina and Sam Perkins still had not heard from his parents.

So, on Saturday morning, he got in his vehicle and started driving toward their home, nestled on a mountain between Spruce Pine and Little Switzerland, to find them.

“My parents live in an absolute gem of the North Carolina mountains,” Perkins said in a post about about his experience. The area is about an hour’s drive from Asheville. “Under normal circumstances, it’s pleasantly very isolated,” he added, in a post about his experience.

“Little did I know that up there, Helene has demolished roads, homes and utility networks. This area is completely cut off from resources in every direction.”

At least 93 people are dead after Helene tore through the southeastern United States, according to CNN’s tally. North Carolina was hit hard: Days of unrelenting flooding have turned roads into waterways, left many stranded without basic necessities and strained state resources.

Gov. Roy Cooper called it “one of the worst storms in modern history.” While supplies have been deployed, at least 280 roads are still closed throughout the state, making it hard for officials to get them into areas in need, Cooper said.

When he realized how many roads were cut off, Perkins said he left his vehicle near a closed highway at the bottom of the mountain and started hiking to his parents’ home.

“I tried every road route I could, but the roads, no matter where you go, are blocked by landslides or failures,” Perkins explained to CNN. “I can’t tell you how many failing roads and deep mudslides I had to cross, how many fallen trees I had to take off my backpack for and navigate through.”

While hiking, Perkins said he ran into multiple people trapped due to the devastated highway. For more than three-and-half hours, Perkins said he hiked 11 miles and 2,200 feet high to finally reach his parents’ home.

“I have never been so relieved to see anyone OK,” Perkins told CNN, adding his parents are in their 70s, but pretty resourceful people.

“I just hugged them, cried, filled them in on all the news they were missing… Walked around the property, helped them decide how to approach some challenges.”

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The sheer number of communities affected by storm damage in Georgia is making it very difficult to get help to the people who need it, the top emergency management official in Jefferson County said Monday morning.

“Response to resource request has been very slow as over 30 counties are basically competing for the same resources and vendors are unable to fulfill those requests,” Emergency Services Director Jim Anderson told CNN via email.

Anderson posted a note to the community on Facebook Sunday saying “I feel your frustration” at the pace of recovery.

“I guess to summarize, their frustrations are justified,” Anderson told CNN.

In addition to a lack of supplies, there is also a lack of ability to communicate, he said. “We have radio towers down, we have no power, 911 services are impacted, and everyone is working to their physical and mental capacity at this time,” said Anderson.

CNN reached out to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency Monday morning for comment on the recovery effort.