Hurricane Helene has left a wake of death and destruction across Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee after it made landfall in Florida on Sept. 26. Despite being downgraded to a tropical depression, hundreds were killed by the storm, millions are still without power, and the damage is estimated in the billions of dollars.

Election officials in Georgia, North Carolina and Florida are working quickly to ensure voters can still securely cast early ballots, despite the devastating storm impacts of Hurricane Helene that have in some cases left them without power,

At least 157 people have died in six states as a result of the storm, and many are still unaccounted for. As Thursday began in the mountain towns of western North Carolina, it remained a challenge to get through washed-out roads and across crumbled bridges — meaning crews were still trying to reach remote areas devastated by Helene.