How to help those impacted by Hurricane Helene: Charities, organizations to support relief efforts [Video]

Hurricane Helene hit Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 storm with catastrophic sustained winds up to 140 mph on Thursday and traveled north, leaving widespread destruction across the Southeast.

As Americans in storm-battered states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia begin to climb out of the damage from last week’s storm that killed at least 166 people with hundreds more unaccounted for, charity organizations have started to rally support efforts. See below for a full list of ways to donate.

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Zeb Smathers, the mayor of Canton, North Carolina, which was hit hard by the storm, told “Good Morning America” the situation was “apocalyptic, not just for Canton, but the entire region.” He added that residents have been unable to contact loved ones due to a total cell phone “blackout” and urged those at risk …