Republican Party leaders met in hurricane-torn North Carolina last week with a mission: figure out how to reach displaced or cut-off potential Donald Trump voters. They thought of flying in absentee ballot registrations via helicopter or having mules or all-terrain vehicles take voters to the polls.

The catastrophic flooding and destruction caused by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina likely caused at least a record $53 billion in damages and recovery needs, Gov. Roy Cooper's administration said Wednesday.

"We took in 147 from the Carolinas after the hurricane and had over 100 cats prior to that," the shelter manager told Newsweek.

The catastrophic flooding and destruction caused by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina likely caused at least a record $53 billion in damages and recovery needs, state officials say.

North Carolina officials say the catastrophic flooding and destruction caused by Hurricane Helene is likely to have caused at least $53 billion in damages and recovery needs in the state

Western North Carolina will need an estimated $14.8 billion in housing assistance to recover from Hurricane Helene-related damage, state officials reported Wednesday. The estimate by the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM) includes $12.

Initial estimates of hurricane damage in North Carolina come to at least $53.6 billion, as the state begins to evaluate the cost to meet needs, repair damage and recover from a lack of tourism revenue.