Hurricane Helene updates: Death toll surpasses 230 as rescue efforts continue

Hurricane Helene has caused "complete devastation" to North Carolina's roads, bridges and water systems, Gov. Roy Cooper said on Thursday.

"Our focus right now is on restoring primary arteries for supplies, medical aid and utility crews," Cooper said, noting that billions of dollars will be required to fully rebuild the region’s infrastructure.

"We need to rebuild in a more resilient way, understanding that this kind of destruction is now a real possibility,” he said.

Over 1,000 National Guard troops and 32 aircraft are delivering supplies daily, Cooper said, and the government has "surged hundreds of thousands of pounds of food and water" to impacted communities.

Search and rescue are still ongoing, Cooper added.

The governor stressed that recovery will be a long-term process.

"We know people will need assistance for a while, especially with power and water systems down," he said.

-ABC News’ Jason Volack

President Joe Biden continued to survey damage caused by Hurricane Helene on Thursday, taking part in an aerial tour over impacted communities in Florida and meeting with families whose homes were destroyed.

It was a bipartisan show of support, as vocal Biden critic Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., joined the president in Keaton Beach to see the devastation on the ground and provide an update on response efforts.

After his briefing, Biden met with a husband and wife who lost their home in the storm, and they thanked the president for visiting. The president then met with local officials and first responders.

Biden made no remarks to the press pool.

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez

In Georgia, the death toll from Hurricane Helene has climbed to 33, Gov. Brian Kemp said Thursday.

Three of the fatalities were due to carbon monoxide poisoning from generators in the Savannah area, he said.

Two-thousand Georgia National Guard soldiers have been deployed across the state to help devastated residents recover from the historic storm, the governor said.

Over 200,000 Georgia customers remain without power. Eight-thousand utility poles need to be replaced, Kemp said.

All of the cleanup costs for the next three months will be paid by Georgia Emergency Management, he said.

-ABC News’ Mariama Jalloh

The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration has opened an investigation following reports that flash flooding from Helene swept away employees from Impact Plastics in Erwin, Tennessee, which is located in Unicoi County.

TOSHA and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are working to determine what led to the "workplace fatalities" at the Erwin facility, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce said in a statement.

In their evening flash update, TEMA has confirmed that four people have died due to weather-related injuries, and six people remain missing in Unicoi County. Authorities have not confirmed how many fatalities and missing people are associated with Impact Plastics.

-ABC News' Victoria Arancio