Republican Party leaders met in hurricane-torn North Carolina last week with a mission: figure out how to reach displaced or cut-off potential Donald Trump voters. They thought of flying in absentee ballot registrations via helicopter or having mules or all-terrain vehicles take voters to the polls.

North Carolina officials say the catastrophic flooding and destruction caused by Hurricane Helene is likely to have caused at least $53 billion in damages and recovery needs in the state

Buncombe County, which includes Asheville, miscounted the deaths during a period when communications were severely hampered by the storm, the sheriff’s office said.