Governor Roy Cooper gives Helene relief briefing at Asheville airport: 'so much more to do'

Brad Farrington pulls over to grab a case of water bottles being passed out in Vilas, a small rural community tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He's on his way to help a friend who lost much of what he owned when Hurricane Helene blew through last weekend.

His friend, like countless others across western North Carolina, is starting over, which explains why Farrington isn't thinking too much about politics or the White House race between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris right now.

"I don't believe people's hope is in either people that are being elected," he said.

Farrington pauses, then gestures toward a dozen volunteers loading water and other necessities into cars and trucks.

"I believe we're finding a lot more hope within folks like this," he said.

In the election's final weeks, people in North Carolina and Georgia, influential swing states, are dealing with more immediate concerns: widespread storm damage. If that weren't enough, voters in Watauga County, a ticket-splitting Appalachian county that has become more Democratic in recent years, must contend with politicians laying blame while offering support as they campaign in a race that could be decided by any small shift.

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The United States Department of Agriculture approved North Carolina to allow current Food and Nutrition Services participants in 23 western state counties to receive 70% of the monthly September benefit back on their EBT card, the NC Department of Health and Human Services said Sunday.

This includes Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yancey counties.

The benefit replacement is automatic and does not require action from the participant. NCDHHS said this will impact 200,000 people in NC and more than $24 million in replacement benefits.

The department also received approval for participants to temporarily use benefits to purchase hot food from EBT retailers using their cards. This will last through Nov. 3 statewide and do not have to apply for the benefit.

NCDHHS is working with USDA to receive federal authority to operate a Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Around 125,000 are still without power across North Carolina one week after Helene swept through the state

According to Duke Energy, in western North Carolina, restoration "may be extended in particular areas where catastrophic damage has occurred to electrical infrastructures, roads/bridges, or both."

"We've never had anything like this. Never. I've talked with guys who have been 40, 50 years in this field, each one of them says never before," Duke Energy spokesperson Bill Norton told WLOS last week.

The Department of Transportation announced Saturday it is sending $100 million in emergency funds to help repair roads and bridges in North Carolina.

This comes after the state suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Helene.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called the emergency aid an initial road of funding. He said the goal is to get roads repaired and reopened quickly.

The government is using the Federal Highway Administration's Emergency Relief Program money to pay for repairs.

CNN contributed to this report.