As of Thursday, the death toll in the county had increased and water was still expected to take weeks to fully restore, officials said.

Relief efforts continue in Asheville and the Western North Carolina area where a major disaster due to Tropical Storm Helene has left communities devastated, roads impassable and thousands without power.

Water management officials said restoring water would likely take weeks to repair catastrophic damage to entire system with access limited.

The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office shared a heartfelt message from Sheriff Quentin Miller as the community grapples with the aftermath of severe

The Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller said four additional deaths have been confirmed in Buncombe County, raising the total to 61.

The death toll is now up to nearly 60 in Buncombe County alone. Sheriff Quentin Miller held a news conference Wednesday and confirmed that 57 people had died in Buncombe County to that point.