Helene death toll surpasses 100 in North Carolina

Nearly five weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated several states on the East Coast, the storm's death toll continues to rise.

As of Wednesday, North Carolina reported 101 fatalities from the storm, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS).

Hurricane Helene left much of western North Carolina in shambles. Rain from the storm caused rivers to flood dozens of small towns and cities, causing hundreds of homes and businesses to be buried in mud.

Residents in many parts of the state are still cleaning up, and many have yet to figure out how and when they can start rebuilding their destroyed properties.

The majority of North Carolina's reported deaths come from Buncombe County, the home of Asheville , and other badly hit cities like Swannanoa and Black Mountain . The county is reporting 43 deaths due to the storm.

On Oct. 22, the county announced a discrepancy in the reported death toll and dropped the number from 72 to 42. The county said a combination of things led to the discrepancy, including a lack of communication from power and cellphone tower outages and updates on causes of death.

The NCDHHS death breakdown is as follows:

In total, Helene has claimed the lives of 229 people across seven states.