Red Cross volunteers from Illinois helping Southeast recover from Helene; "People just need compassion"

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Red Cross volunteers from Illinois are on the ground in the Southeast, offering their help to communities devastated by Hurricane Helene, which left many people stranded and without shelter.

Amanda Venvertloh, a community disaster program manager with the Illinois region disaster services team of the Red Cross, was in Talahassee, Florida, on Monday, where crews were still working to restore power that was knocked out by the devastating storm.

Venvertloh said many of the people she sees have been hit by several powerful storms over the past 14 months.

"I think what what we're seeing overall – at least what I've experienced – is just, one, the gratefulness of the community for the Red Cross being here. But, also, just as the storms have come through in the last 14 months, we see people who have been hit with one storm after another. So we definitely recognize that these are people who, yes they experience hurricanes more frequently than I do – obviously, coming from Illinois – but it's the need. People just need compassion, and they need services," she said.

Helene killed at least 116 people, CBS News confirmed. The storm appears to have inflicted its worst damage in the Carolinas, where officials said more than 70 people have been found dead.

President Biden said Monday morning that he planned to visit the disaster area later this week. The president said he didn't want to survey the damage too soon and divert resources from response efforts.

Mr. Biden told reporters at the White House there were reports that 600 people were unaccounted for following the storm, which knocked out communications to affected areas.

Helene knocked out power to several million customers in several states. More than two million still had no electricity early Monday, Find Energy reported. But Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday night that 99% of that state's homes and businesses had their power restored.

Venvertloh said several other Red Cross volunteers from Illinois were in the Southeast – including parts of Georgia and North Carolina – to provide supplies and other help to people now recovering from the storm's damage.

"I actually have not been able to chat with them, although I'll be very interested to, as some of them are going to be out in our emergency response vehicles doing what we would call seek and serve missions where they go out, and they're looking for folks in the community who need assistance," she said.

Several people were staying in Red Cross emergency shelters in the Big Bend region of Florida on Monday, because they have been left homeless.

"What they described to us is that they are certainly experiencing a lot of loss. They're in our shelters, because maybe their places are not safe to stay in. So we are experiencing that," Venvertloh said.

The Red Cross is asking anyone who can't volunteer on the ground in the Southeast to donate to relief efforts, either by making a tax deductible donation, or by donating blood.