This has been occurring far too frequently: After picking up his child from school, a man and his family were killed on the 719 highway.

A week ago, Helene was plowing into Florida, thrashing cities and towns on the Gulf Coast while millions of people ahead of the hurricane’s path were dealing with rains that preceded even more rain. Forecasters warned of impacts that would be felt far inland.

In the Southeast, roads were covered with cars, not feet of water. Bridges were still up. The lights were still on. The town of Chimney Rock – home to a popular North Carolina state park, breathtaking views and iconic rock formation – was still looking forward to visitors.

A week later, 213 people are confirmed dead from Helene across six states, making Helene the deadliest hurricane to hit the United States mainland since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. That count includes the following deaths reported Thursday: 11 in North Carolina’s Buncombe County, where Asheville is situated (bringing that county’s overall toll to 72); eight in Georgia; two in South Carolina; and one in western Florida

Of the 213 killed, 106 were in North Carolina and 41 were in South Carolina.

Those who survived are still in disbelief after the historic storm pummeled their homes and communities. Chimney Rock has been washed away, as have roads and bridges throughout the massive storm’s path.

Survivors are pitching in for each other, bringing food and water, helping dig out and cut up knocked down trees. All are hoping for small victories – like getting their cell phone service back or finding a gas station that is open – while facing a long recovery.

“This is not something that’s going to just last weeks,” Zeb Smathers, the mayor of Canton, told CNN Thursday. “We’re going to be having to advocate for these areas in western North Carolina for many, many years.”

More than 850,000 customers in seven states from Florida to West Virginia still were without power as of Thursday evening, according to PowerOutage.us. Most are in the Carolinas, where regional energy provider Duke Energy says “major portions of the power grid … were simply wiped away.”

Helene’s swift floodwaters took out so many power poles and electric lines, infrastructure needs to be rebuilt before power is restored, though the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Thursday it had helped restore power to more than 3.3 million homes.