CNN
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Short on supplies, short on energy and short on patience, those who saw the force of a massive storm turn their lives upside down have begun a new week and faced the great challenge of rebuilding. Some roads and bridges that they need to do their work are no longer there. Electricity can last a week or more. Emergency services are stretched thin. And neighbors, some of whose own homes have disappeared, are helping neighbors.

At least 95 people have died in six states and officials believe there could be more. So far, state and county officials said 36 people died in North Carolina, 25 in South Carolina, 17 in Georgia, 11 in Florida, four in Tennessee and two in Virginia. Many more people are missing, perhaps unable to leave their location or unable to contact family where communications infrastructure is in tatters.

Hundreds of roads remain closed, especially in the Carolinas, hampering the delivery of much-needed supplies. And according to PowerOutage.us, more than 2 million customers are still without power. Power companies are dealing with damaged and blocked roads as they try to restore power to homes and businesses.

President Joe Biden will visit some of the affected communities later this week, “as soon as doing so does not disrupt emergency response operations,” the White House said Sunday evening. He will speak at the White House Monday morning about federal efforts to quickly get resources where they are needed. The president has approved disaster response and has been in touch with governors where damage has been most severe.

During the cleanup effort, a Buncombe County resident told CNN she has no power, running water or cell phone reception.

With firewood in her hands, Meredith Keisler, a school nurse, said, “We collect wood because we have a grill to make a fire and cook food,” she said.

Although Keisler says she considers herself fortunate to have the resources at her home, she plans to work at a shelter to help others.

“It’s unbelievable – the destruction. It’s really sad,” she noted when asked about her surroundings.

About 20 miles east of Asheville, Krista Cortright said her boyfriend’s grandmother couldn’t leave Black Mountain because of the flooding. Cortright told CNN that the couple had to come to her because she had limited supplies and is diabetic.

It normally takes the couple 25 minutes to travel from Marion to the grandmother’s house. On Sunday it took them 2.5 hours due to road closures.

“Things are even more devastating personally,” Cortright said. “(Western North Carolina) is going to take a very long time to recover, but I’m so grateful that we’re here and doing well. My heart is broken for our people here.”

Michael Callahan, president of Duke Energy’s utilities operations in South Carolina, said infrastructure repairs should precede energy restoration efforts.

“The poles and wires that make up our transmission system have suffered unprecedented damage.” Callahan said at a press conference.

Still, the utility hoped to have most of its customers in the state available again by Friday, he said.

“And with the exception of areas that are inaccessible or cannot be put into service, this does not mean that your power will not go out until Friday,” he clarified.

About 760,000 homes and businesses in South Carolina were without electricity as of Sunday evening, according to PowerOutage.us.

More than 1.2 million customers were without power in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia.

Officials in Buncombe County, North Carolina — where at least 30 people have died — have received about 600 Reports of missing persons through an online form, district manager Avril Pinder said on Sunday.

Former FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate encouraged people not to lose hope.

Just because communications are down and loved ones are unreachable “doesn’t necessarily mean the worst has happened,” he told CNN on Sunday, adding that people will be reunited once cell phone reception and the internet are restored.

The state’s telecommunications partners have activated disaster roaming on all networks, meaning “any phone on any carrier can access any network to make calls,” said William Ray, director of state emergency management.

“While we know we have lost lives, overall we are seeing more people missing or unaccounted for due to communications,” Fugate said.

The governor responded to earlier reports that a thousand people had gone missing.

“There have been about a thousand phone calls. We don’t know the results of all those calls,” he said, adding that most people are likely safe but don’t yet have phone or internet service.

However, he added that the official death toll could rise.

“We also know that there will be many fatalities as a result of this tragedy,” Cooper said. “We don’t know how many because search and rescue operations are still ongoing.”

The president will visit communities affected by the storm later this week, the White House said Sunday evening.

On Sunday, Biden spoke with Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, as well as other officials in North Carolina, Tennessee, Florida and South Carolina.

He was briefed Sunday by Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell and Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall on Hurricane Helene recovery efforts. Criswell visited Georgia on Sunday and will leave for North Carolina on Monday.

The White House said Biden was monitoring recovery efforts this weekend while in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, after approving pre-landfall emergency declarations for Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Alabama. He subsequently issued statements for Tennessee and Virginia.

Vice President Kamala Harris was also briefed by Criswell on storm impacts and recovery efforts.

Harris thanked first responders at a campaign rally in Las Vegas and said her thoughts go out to those experiencing the devastation Helene left behind.

“We will support these communities for as long as it takes to ensure they can recover and rebuild,” Harris said.

Former President Donald Trump on Sunday offered his condolences to those affected by Helene, the strongest hurricane on record to hit the Big Bend region of Florida.

“Before we begin, I want to extend my love and prayers to the families of those who died – many dead – and all those who are displaced and suffering the effects of the hurricane that has devastated the South, especially in Florida, Georgia , Alabama, Tennessee and especially western North Carolina took a huge hit,” Trump said at a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania.

The remnants of Helene continue to bring rainfall to parts of the mid-Atlantic. The heaviest rainfall is possible in parts of central Virginia and eastern West Virginia, where flooding will continue through the night and is expected to end at 6 a.m. ET on Monday. According to the Weather Prediction Center, precipitation rates of 1-2 inches per hour and precipitation totals of 1-3 inches are possible.

An upper-level low-pressure system will remain nearly stationary over eastern Kentucky on Monday, potentially bringing heavy showers to much of the region, including Virginia and West Virginia, the National Weather Service office in Baltimore said. Showers are possible on Monday in much of the Helene-affected area. The majority of showers expected in the area are light, but any new rainfall will not be a boon to those trying to rebuild and clean up the area after Helene’s devastation.

About 90 river meters in Helene’s path are still in some sort of flood stage, while about 20 river meters are in moderate or major flood stage. It will take days for some river levels to fall below flood level, regardless of rainfall. Some river gauges downstream of the heaviest rainfall will still peak later this week and even into the weekend.

Helene dumped “staggering” amounts of rain, including 12 to 18 inches in South Carolina, 12 to 18 inches in Florida and 12 to 18 inches in Georgia, said Ken Graham, the director of the National Weather Service.

In many communities, including Asheville, North Carolina, fresh water is one of the big problems. One of the city’s water plants is out of service and many of the pipes used to bring water to customers are damaged, prompting Mayor Esther Manheimer to ask for patience.

“We don’t want people to assume this is going to happen quickly; we need to make sure people understand that this is something they need to plan for the long term. They have to save water for drinking, for flushing toilets, for things like that. Don’t assume this will end anytime soon,” Manheimer told CNN affiliate WLOS.

Michelle Coleman, the executive director of the Asheville Dream Center, told CNN she has never seen her community like this.

“This is the most devastating thing I have ever seen in our entire city,” she said.

Coleman described how groups mobilized to deliver water, diapers and other supplies to community members, including giving supplies to a family with a five-day-old child.

“Our prayer is that people will not lose hope as our community comes together. Asheville is a strong community,” Coleman said.

Gary O’Dell, a disabled Vietnam War veteran, said he shared his oxygen tank with a neighbor.

“My neighbor ran out of oxygen. He is in worse shape than me,” he said. “That’s my problem. I now also have lung cancer. You don’t realize that oxygen is very important.”

CNN’s Robert Shackelford, Sarah Dewberry, Rafael Romo, Jade Gordon, Ashley R. Williams, DJ Judd, Sunlen Serfaty, Lauren Mascarenhas, Eric Levenson, Isabel Rosales, Taylor Galgano, Sara Smart, Conor Powell, Caroll Alvarado, Caroline Jaime, Emma Tucker, Artemis Moshtaghian, Paradise Afshar and Raja Razek contributed to this report.