On Monday emergency workers delivered a million litres of water, 600,000 meals and hundreds of pallets of airlifted supplies, he said.
In North Carolina, some 300 roads were closed and more than 7,000 people have registered for US Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance, officials said on Monday. The National Guard was flying 1,000 tons of food and water to remote areas by plane and helicopter.
Helene was a hurricane when it slammed into the Florida Gulf coast on Thursday, tearing a destructive path through southeastern states for days on end.
More than 1.7 million homes and businesses in six states from Florida to West Virginia remained without power on Tuesday morning, according to the website Poweroutage.us, including about 625,000 in South Carolina and 468,000 in Georgia.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said at least 25 people in his state had died. South Carolina reported at least 29 dead.
CNN put the national death toll at 128, citing state and local officials, including 56 in North Carolina.
