BBC:
President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris have travelled to south-eastern US states hit by Hurricane Helene, as the death toll from the storm climbed to 180.
Biden flew by helicopter over North and South Carolina to view the scale of the devastation.
Hundreds of people remain missing, with search-and-rescue teams struggling to reach remote areas.
Biden has deployed 1,000 active-duty soldiers to help 6,000 National Guard members and 4,800 federal aid workers already working across six states hit by the extreme weather.
Aid deliveries have been made by airdrops and mules. The US government has said the clear-up effort could take years.
Vice-President Harris, who is the Democratic presidential nominee, travelled to neighbouring Georgia on Wednesday.
Both North Carolina and Georgia are key swing states in November’s presidential election.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump took his own trip to Georgia earlier in the week to view the storm damage.
In North Carolina, where tens of thousands of residents remain without running water, Biden took an aerial tour of storm-ravaged western areas of the state.
“God willing, they’re alive,” he said, referring to reports of up to 600 people unaccounted for. “But there’s no way to contact them again because of the lack of cell phone coverage.”
