The active-duty military also is contributing to response and rescue efforts by providing personnel, equipment and access to its installations in the region as staging areas.
Hurricane Helene hit Thursday in Florida's Big Bend region with wind speeds up to 140 mph before storming across the southeast U.S. and dumping multiple feet of rain in some locations. In its wake, the hurricane destroyed infrastructure, created widespread flooding and cut off power to millions. At least 121 deaths in six states have been attributed to the storm, according to The Associated Press.
As of Monday morning, nearly 3,900 members of the Florida National Guard were working with hundreds of tactical vehicles and boats and 11 helicopters to perform emergency response missions in dozens of counties throughout the state, according state and military officials.
Troops there have rescued 155 people and 56 animals, while also clearing 1,189 miles of roads. The Guard has distributed 178,404 water cases, 173,176 Meals, Ready to Eat, 2,304 bags of ice, and 7,911 tarps through 34 distributions locations.
Other activations included about 1,500 Guard members in Georgia, nearly 600 in South Carolina, about 130 in Tennessee and nearly 50 in Virginia.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp spoke Monday about conditions in his state and some of the lives lost, including a firefighter responding to a call, and three separate instances where trees fell on homes. One falling tree took the life of a mother and her 1-month-old twin boys, he said.
Troops on Monday continued to help clear roads of debris and downed trees so that supplies and utility workers could reach remote areas, Georgia officials said.
North Carolina was hit hard with flooding in the western region of the state. More than 700 Guard members were activated and received additional support from Connecticut, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Ohio, New York, South Carolina and Florida, according to the Pentagon.
"Across the region, National Guardsmen are supporting state and local response efforts with warehousing support, high-water vehicles, law enforcement support, search and rescue, route clearance, evacuation support, boat rescues and more," Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon's deputy press secretary, said Monday.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Sunday that the state's Guard was airlifting supplies to some of the hardest-hit portions of the state, including the city of Asheville, where the water system was compromised.
"People are desperate for help — and we are pushing to get it to them. Please know that we are sending resources, and coordinating closely with local governments, first responders, state and federal partners, and volunteer organizations to help those impacted by this tragic storm," Cooper said. "This is an unprecedented tragedy that requires an unprecedented response."
U.S. Northern Command, which is responsible for defense and civil-support missions, sent one unit to Nashville to offer support staff to local officials and another to Orlando to help with federal search-and-rescue coordination, the Pentagon said.
The staging of federal units was underway Monday at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany and Robins Air Force Base , both in Georgia, and Fort Campbell in Kentucky .
The Civil Air Patrol, an Air Force unit that assists in emergency public service missions, was activated to conduct disaster response and damage assessment in North Carolina and South Carolina, according to the Pentagon. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is providing emergency power planning and response teams to Georgia, as well as teams to inspect dams, levees and bridges in Tennessee and Kentucky.
Army engineers were also tasked with assessing local water systems across the southeast where boil water notices were issued, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
President Joe Biden on Saturday pledged help for the devastated states and said he would tour the area this week as long as it did not interrupt rescue or recovery work.
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