A grassroots effort led by relief organization Operation Airdrop has put together a group of private helicopters to aid victims affected by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. Pilot Matt McSwain said volunteers from Texas to Maine are lining up to help deliver supplies and survey damaged areas.

The disaster in Asheville, a mountain town 300 miles from the coast, was unexpected for many, leaving residents without power, cell service, or water as the death toll rises. Days after Hurricane Helene tore through North Carolina,

Helene made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region Thursday night as a massive Category 4 hurricane -- the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the Big Bend on record.