The number of victims of Hurricane "Helen" in the southeastern part of the United States grew last night to at least 215 people, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.

The agency notes that rescue teams and volunteers, who face obstacles at every turn in the remote mountains of the US state of North Carolina, are moving in canoes on high-water rivers and using horses to get past mudslides in an attempt to more quickly reach the people cut off or missing after the hurricane passed.

A week after the storm first hit Florida's Gulf Coast, the search continues for people still unaccounted for in areas where phone service and power have been cut. Pleas for help come from local residents who lack medicine or need fuel for their generators.

It is not yet clear how many people are missing or missing. More victims were discovered yesterday, making "Helen" in the deadliest hurricane to hit the continental US since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

About half of the victims were in the state of North Carolina, and dozens more died in the states of South Carolina and Georgia.

US President Joe Biden said last night that the release of an additional package of aid to people affected by Hurricane Helen cannot wait until after the election on November 5, Reuters reported. "People need help now,", Biden said.

The US Congress will not reconvene before the November 5 election, Reuters notes.