Helene’s death count in North Carolina is by no means final. But Lau was one of dozens known to have been killed after the hurricane’s powerful remnants reached Western North Carolina, with more fatal tragedies yet to be reported or even discovered.

Widespread devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene came into light Monday across the South, revealing a wasteland of splintered houses, crushed cargo containers and mud-covered highways in one of the worst storms in U.