Helene Update: Death Toll Soars As Aid Tries To Come From All Over, Including Vermont

Debris that used to be peoples' homes and businesses 
completely cover the surface of this lake outside
of Asheville, North Carolina, 

 Horrifying damage videos and images have been emerging from western North Carolina all day as more and more people access the region to offer aid, and begin to help at least some of the people traumatized by what has been an incredible disaster.  

At last count this afternoon, at least 132 people have died in the storm. That includes 40 in the North Carolina county that includes Asheville, according to the Associated Press. 

At least 600 people are still regarded as missing, but the thought and the hope is that most of them are OK, but isolated by washed out roads and a lack of telephone and cell service. 

The AP continues:

"A crisis was unfolding in western North Carolina, where residents stranded by washed-out roads and a lack of power and cellular service line up Monday for fresh water and a chance to message loved ones days after the storm that they were alive."

Since the roads are in such bad shape, what aid is trickling in is being delivered via helicopter and even mules. 

Vermonters, no stranger to devastating floods and receiving aid from other states, are trying to return the favor. 

Members of Vermonts Urban Search and Rescue Team have been in Florida, combing through wrecked buildings to ensure they've reached everyone. They've performed swift water rescues near Pensacola and the Tampa Bay areas, WCAX reports. Through Sunday night, the team has searched through 41,000 buildings. 

When they get done in Florida, the team will move on to North Carolina.

About 50 people with Green Mountain Power are also in the region trying to help restore power.