At least 72 people have died in hard-hit Buncombe County, North Carolina, which encompasses Asheville, Sheriff Quentin Miller said Thursday.

Over 200 others are missing, the sheriff said.

To the residents of Buncombe County, the sheriff said, "You are the heart of everything we do. We know these are hard times. But please know we're coming to get you."

Hurricane Helene has caused "complete devastation" to North Carolina's roads, bridges and water systems, Gov. Roy Cooper said on Thursday.

"Our focus right now is on restoring primary arteries for supplies, medical aid and utility crews," Cooper said, noting that billions of dollars will be required to fully rebuild the region’s infrastructure.

"We need to rebuild in a more resilient way, understanding that this kind of destruction is now a real possibility,” he said.

Over 1,000 National Guard troops and 32 aircraft are delivering supplies daily, Cooper said, and the government has "surged hundreds of thousands of pounds of food and water" to impacted communities.

Search and rescue are still ongoing, Cooper added.

The governor stressed that recovery will be a long-term process.

"We know people will need assistance for a while, especially with power and water systems down," he said.

-ABC News’ Jason Volack

President Joe Biden continued to survey damage caused by Hurricane Helene on Thursday, taking part in an aerial tour over impacted communities in Florida and meeting with families whose homes were destroyed.

It was a bipartisan show of support, as vocal Biden critic Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., joined the president in Keaton Beach to see the devastation on the ground and provide an update on response efforts.

After his briefing, Biden met with a husband and wife who lost their home in the storm, and they thanked the president for visiting. The president then met with local officials and first responders.

Biden made no remarks to the press pool.

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez

In Georgia, the death toll from Hurricane Helene has climbed to 33, Gov. Brian Kemp said Thursday.

Three of the fatalities were due to carbon monoxide poisoning from generators in the Savannah area, he said.

Two-thousand Georgia National Guard soldiers have been deployed across the state to help devastated residents recover from the historic storm, the governor said.

Over 200,000 Georgia customers remain without power. Eight-thousand utility poles need to be replaced, Kemp said.

All of the cleanup costs for the next three months will be paid by Georgia Emergency Management, he said.

-ABC News’ Mariama Jalloh

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper provided an update Saturday afternoon on the ongoing recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

As of 4 p.m., more than 200 people have been rescued from flood waters, he said. North Carolina first responders are being aided by crews from 19 other states and the federal government, according to Cooper.

"This is a historic and catastrophic storm for Western North Carolina and I’m grateful to first responders working right now to save lives and evacuate residents," he said in a statement.

Some areas in the mountain region saw as much as 29 inches of rain, the governor said. More than 700,000 people remain without power.

"We’re bringing in needed supplies by air," Cooper said.