The number of fatalities from Hurricane Helene has reached 65 in North Carolina, with more than 40 percent coming from Buncombe County, the state reported Friday — a week after the storm dumped record rainfall across the region.

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.