People are still searching for loved ones, and many residents remain isolated because of widespread damage. At least 215 people have died and hundreds are still unaccounted for in the destruction wrought by Hurricane Helene since it made landfall in Florida on Sept. 26.

Hundreds of people are still missing and nearly a million homes are without power a week after the storm tore across the US south-east.

The damage wrought by Hurricane Helene was especially extensive in western North Carolina, a region far from the Florida coast where the system made landfall as a Category 4 storm. People in Asheville on the toll of going through such a catastrophic event — and why they’re so proud of their community.