Right now theres widespread devastation, and an urgent search for survivors. The storm decimated towns with historic flooding washing out bridges and roads, and leaving some neighborhoods completely under water. Take a look at asheville, North Carolina, where homes and trucks were swept away by Raging Waters that have turned roads into rivers. At this hour, more than 2 Million people across the south are without power, hundreds are still unaccounted for. Well have live Team Coverage from across three states this morning. Joining us now, nbcs reporter, florida was the first place the Storm Hit. What are you seeing there . And im seeing George Solis there, who we will have on shortly. There is guad, also with us priscilla thomson. Guad, lets begin with you. Reporter total destruction in this area. So we are on treasure island. This is one of the islands on what they call the barrier islands, furthest west from the Tampa Bay Area, and i dont even know where to start here. So, the sand youre looking at is sand that was washed on from the beach, so essentially the surge brought in the gulf into this whole community. When the water receded, the sand stayed here. So all of these streets are covered in sand. And you can see dumpsters, motorcycles, vehicles that were parked not there, but on other properties that were pushed in by the water. Look at this shopping cart. Its destroyed. This is the force that the water came in with. Im walking on what looks like Sand Dunes. Theres a vehicle in that garage that was sort of shoved into the side. On the side of this house, jose, theres a vehicle that an owner told me was parked at her building, which is about 100 or 150 yards in the opposite direction. The water shoved that vehicle, with other debris, another dumpster into this area. Theres a Palm Tree that stopped it from moving further in. This is the type of destruction were seeing on these barrier islands. This has been closed down to the public. They are allowing residents, owners, Business Owners or owners of these properties to come in and begin with the cleanup. But before many of them can get into these buildings, authorities still need to come and clear the streets, because its almost impossible to get into a lot of these houses. We were escorted by the national guard, we spoke to one of the captains earlier. This is what he had to say about the Destruction Theyve seen. Absolute destruction. It looks like a War Zone here. Cars, you know, piles of dirt on cars, windows busted open, garages completely flooded, houses catching on fire. Im from the northeast, and looking around, it looks like a major snowstorm in the northeast. It blows my mind. Reporter so, im going to move over to this side, jose, you can see more of this destruction, everywhere we look. This garage, our photographer has to be careful because hes walking on these Sand Dunes and this is what residents have to walk through when they return to their properties. Now, jose, all of this damage is from the Storm Surge. When authorities talk about the danger from a foot, two, three, four feet of a possible Storm Surge, this is what comes with the water, especially in these communities that are right off the gulf. Ive spoken to some of these residents and i asked them what was different with the storm. They said, well, they always say theres a possibility of a Storm Surge, but it usually isnt as bad as they think. This time, it was much worse, jose. Guad, a few questions. There has been a massive effort under way in florida, which was, if you start comparing it to where helene hit, but as it went up north, you know, South Carolina, North Carolina has just been mostly Water Phenomenon. How is the Recovery Process in the areas affected in florida by helene going . Reporter so, jose, when you look at florida, florida has State Agencies that are always prepared for hurricanes. So they were standing by even before this, because theyve been hit by other storms this year. So the state always has Crews Standing by, the national guard, the power companies. Theyre much more prepared for an event like this, a hurricane. Now, most of the damage in florida, again, came from the Storm Surge, not so much from the wind or that heavy rain. There is some damage that weve seen around the Tampa Bay Area where trees were knocked over by the wind. But its really the Storm Surge that affected here. When it comes to the response, because florida is used to dealing with these types of hurricanes or storms, they are ready to come in. And even with all of those State Resources and fema present, helping out, we still have areas like this one that are waiting for officials to send in some of those machines and clear things out. Theyre asking people to be patient, because this is just one neighborhood. Were talking about the entire Tampa Bay Area, all these communities near the water that were affected. So it changes community to community. If you drive down ten minutes over by the airport, theres a community thats waiting for authorities to come pick up a lot of the trash, furniture, appliances, things that were ruined that people brought out to the front yard. Theyre asking, when are they going to pick up the trash . You drive in the other direction, theres boats that washed onto properties and theyre trying to figure out, what are we going to do with the boats . Here, its really the sand, they need to get the sand out of the way so residents can assess the damage. So it changes from community to community, jose. What weve seen in other states, a lot of that damage coming from heavy rain. This is why hurricanes are so dangerous. Youve got the winds, youve got the rain, and youve got the Storm Surge, jose. Thank you very much. And at least a third of the deaths from helene have been reported in North Carolina, with some towns there still under water. Many residents in Bumcombe County are cut off from power, Water And Cell service. Joining us now is quentin miller, sheriff of Bumcombe County in North Carolina. Sheriff, thank you very much for being with us. What exactly is the situation on the ground where you are . Ill first tell you its devastating. This has been a historic event for us, weve never seen this type of flooding. We have two rivers that are completely out of their banks, and this has really been a challenge, so much that weve activated our North Carolina Sheriffs Association Recovery or disaster program, and this is why we actually have sheriffs coming to Bumcombe County to assist us with this devastation. How would you describe that devastation, and what are some of the things just speaking with guad there in florida, it was such a Water Phenomenon where you are. What are some of the areas most affected and what are the people going through right now . Well, ill just tell you one of the issues is that weve had buildings just engulfed with water, weve lost a lowes building, a uhaul building completely. Weve had our whole town just totally devastated, and basically its not there no more because its under water. Weve had several Recovery Efforts continue, but we have landslides were dealing with at this point, and with those landslides, of course, were having challenges with recovering folks. No power, no Cell Phone coverage. So this is quite different when youre normally used to picking up a phone, you cant do it. Power, we have people here that dont have power, they dont have the ability to flush a toilet, and its very, very challenging. And i also welcome Forsythe County Sheriff with us as well. If you would, for folks that arent there, whats the most what are the most pressing needs for your people . Sure. First of all, i appreciate you all covering it. The most pressing need would be water, the basic essentials. Weve activated the North Carolina Sheriffs Association from across the state, we need resources here, we need water, we need everything that you typically need to survive, food, clothing, shelter. Ive seen a lot of tragedy in my career, and ive seen very few this devastating, as Sheriff Miller said, neighborhoods that are not there anymore, Recovery Efforts. So we have people from all over the state of North Carolina that are coming here to assist, but we need resources, we need water, we need water, we need water. And, sheriff, why hasnt that water been brought in already . Im just wondering i mean, what kind of assistance have you had . Was there any prestorm bringing in of resources by the federal Government Or Anybody else . My answer to that is yes, we definitely had planning, but were not accustomed to this type of devastation. We actually had, you know, several meetings, expectations of what was going to happen. We started planning for, you know, getting water in place, getting people in place. So weve done things to prepare, but i dont know how to tell you how you prepare for a storm this big and with this type of devastation. I think weve done a good job. As always, Theres Room for improvement in anything that we do. But, again, i would say this, we have done, you know, a tremendous job here. I would give credit to our county manager, i would give credit to our emergency response, our county manager, our Emergency Manager is taylor jones. Trust me when i tell you, they really did everything they could as far as getting us prepared. And, again, this is a storm thats historic, something that weve never seen and the devastation, again, entire towns are missing and folks are gone. If you would, both of you, gentlemen, just tell us a little bit about the people that you serve, the people that you care so much about. Are there mostly rural areas, are there towns, are there cities . And then the second question i have is, what do you need all of us to do . Well, what i can tell you is that im not from Bumcombe County, as our team drove in from forsythe county, two and a half hours away, as we came in, i was just tearful, what we came into. What i can tell you, its a difficult situation and we will get through it. Were Bumcombe County strong and North Carolina state strong. We will get through it. But the question you asked, what do we need from you . We need resources. While we have resources coming, we need a plethora of them coming. We need planes landing at the Asheville Airport with pallets of water, we need resources. We have manpower here. The North Carolina Sheriffs Association, chief of Police Association have sent manpower here. So the town is secured. We have people here, we have Law Enforcement here. What we need now is resources as we stand up Command Centers and stand up sites with people to refuel. We need water. What i need from you, i Cant Speak for Sheriff Miller, but from what ive seen being here two days assisting him, we need supplies and we need them coming by the pallets. Just add to that, you know, absolutely, we need water, absolutely we need food. Gentlemen again i hate to interrupt you. The president of the united states is going to be speaking on this issue. I thank you for being with us. Lets go to the White House. Governor cooper of North Carolina, county officials of the big Bend Region of florida, and other leaders of South Carolina and tennessee, the broad and devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene. Its not just a catastrophic storm, its a historic, historymaking storm, entire southeast and appalachians. Winds over 120 miles an hour in some places. Storm surges up to 15 feet and record flooding. Communities are devastated. Loved ones waiting, not sure if their Loved Ones are okay, because they Cant Contact them because theres no Cell Phone connections. Many more folks displaced with no idea when theyll be able to return home, if ever. Were keeping them all in our prayers and all the lives lost, and those particularly unaccounted for, theres nothing like wondering, is my husband, wife, son, mother, father, alive. And many more remain without electricity, water, food and communications. Homes and businesses have washed away in an instant. I want them to know were not leaving until the job is done. I also want you to know, im committed to traveling to impacted areas as soon as possible, but ive been told that it would be disruptive if i did it right now. We will not do that at the risk of diverting or delaying any of the response assets needed to deal with this crisis. My first responsibility is to get all the help needed to those impacted areas, and i expect to be there excuse me, i have a cold expect to be there later this week. I and my team are in constant contact with the governors, mayors and local leaders. The head of fema is on the ground now in North Carolina, shes going to stay in asheville and the region for the foreseeable future. Theres been reports of over 100 dead as a consequence of the storm and there are reports of up to 600 people unaccounted for because they cant be contacted. God willing, theyre alive, but theres no way to contact them because of the lack of Cell Phone coverage. Ive directed my team to provide every available resource as fast as possible to your communities, to rescue, recover, and beginning rebuilding. In addition, fema, which includes the federal Communications Commission to help establish communications capability, the national guard, the Army Corps of engineers and the Department Of Defense are going to provide all the resources at its disposal to rescue and assist in Clearing Debris and delivering lifesaving supplies. So far, thats over 3,600 personnel deployed. That number is growing by the day. I quickly approved requests from governors of florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, tennessee, georgia and virginia and alabama for an emergency declaration. And i approved additional requests for the governors of North Carolina, florida, South Carolina, and for Disaster Declaration to pay for debris removal, provide financial assistance directly, directly to survivors. Fema and the small Business Administration are there to help the residents whose homes and businesses were literally destroyed, washed away or blown away. The federal Search And Rescue teams have been working sidebyside with local officials and partners in treacherous conditions to find those that are missing, and theyll not rest until everyone is accounted for. I want to thank all of the first responders and everyone who has been working around the clock. One of the brave teams that volunteered to be there is from San Diego County fire department, set to travel all the way from california to North Carolina to help. But on their way, they were in a terrible Car Accident in louisiana. We pray for their full recovery, but it was a bad accident. We know theres more to do and well continue to surge resources, including food, water, communications and lifesaving equipment. Well be there, as i said before, and i mean it. As long as it takes to finish this job. Let me close with this. As president , ive seen firsthand the devastating toll that disasters like this take on families and communities. Ive been on the ground in many Disaster Areas since ive been president , and ive heard dozens of stories from survivors about how it feels to be left with nothing, not even knowing where or when youll get back on track. Im here to tell every single survivor in these impacted areas that we will be there with you, as long as it takes. I urge everyone, everyone returning to their communities, to listen to local officials and follow all safety instructions. Take this seriously, please be safe. Your nation has your back and the Bidenharris Administration will be there until the job is done. God bless you all. Thank you. [ Inaudible Question ] are you going to ask song for a supplemental . Thats my expectation. This is a historic storm. Its devastating. Theyve never seen anything like this before. And some are backtoback, three storms in a row. So its really, really devastating. Have you considered asking congress to come back for a Special Session . That is something ill have to request. No decisions have been made. Do you have a sense of when youll be able to go, sir . Yes, i told the governor of North Carolina i would go down, and i expect to be down there by wednesday or thursday when its clear for me to go. You guys travel with me, you know theres an entourage and this can be disruptive. If President Trump is down there today, is that disruptive . I dont have any idea. On the other side of the world in the Middle East im going to stick with this subject, but go ahead. Israel now be launching a limited operation into lebanon. Are you aware of that and comfortable with their plan . Im more aware than you might know, and im comfortable with them stopping. We should have a ceasefire now. Thank you. Mr. President, why werent you and Vice President harris here in washington commanding this this weekend . I was commanding. I was on the phone for at least two Hours Yesterday and the day before as well. I command over the telephone with my security people. Is it not important for the country to see well, President Biden there at the White House, just with some comments specifically, and he wanted to focus, for obvious reasons, on what is going on in North Carolina and South Carolina and in georgia and in florida. I want to bring in white House Correspondent Allie raffa. The president said to take this seriously. He told the folks that are affected by it. I know they certainly are. What are the plans for the federal government to, as the president was saying, surge resources into these affected areas . Reporter yeah, jose. As we see more and more images of the devastating impact that Hurricane Helene had on these regions in the south, you have more people asking what the federal government is doing and will do more of in the wake of that storm. And the pr