US President to visit area affected by Hurricane Helene

US President Joe Biden has announced that he will visit the US state of North Carolina, which was worst hit by Hurricane Helene last week.

The powerful tropical storm struck the coast of Florida before making its way across several south-eastern states.

Millions of people are still without power and rescue services are helping to restore water and other supplies.

Mr Biden added that he may ask Congress to return in order to pass a funding package to help those affected.

What damage did Hurricane Helene cause?

Helene began as a hurricane - the most powerful on record to hit Florida's Big Bend area, when it struck last Thursday.

It then moved north into the states of Georgia, North and South Carolina and Tennessee.

The hurricane brought heavy rain, wind speeds of 140 miles per hour and 'record-breaking' flooding in many areas.

Experts say Helene was the 14th most powerful to hit the US since records began.

At roughly 420 miles (675 km) wide, it is behind only two other hurricanes in terms of its size.

Sadly, more than 100 people have died because of the storm.

A White House spokeswoman said about 2 million people are still without power and there are around 50,000 emergency service workers helping to get power back on across different states.

Hundreds of other rescue workers are using special equipment like helicopters and high water vehicles to deliver food and water and help people in the worst affected areas that cannot be reached due to blocked roads.

More than 5,000 National Guard troops are also helping to deliver aid and restore transportation links.

The American Red Cross has opened more than 140 shelters for those who evacuated their homes.

What is a hurricane?

This satellite image shows Hurricane Helene over the Gulf of Florida

Hurricanes are powerful storms which develop in warm tropical ocean waters.

In other parts of the world, they are known as cyclones or typhoons. Or referred to as "tropical cyclones".

Tropical cyclones are characterised by very high wind speeds, heavy rainfall, and storm surges - which is a temporary rise in sea-levels. This often causes lots of damage and flooding in areas where people live.

In the United States, hurricanes are classified on a scale of 1-5 with Category 5 being the most intense.

That's based on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which looks at factors including the storm's sustained wind speed.

Storms reaching Category 3 and above are considered "major hurricanes".