Three weeks after Tropical Storm Helene turned quaint creeks and rivers into deadly forces of nature in western North Carolina on Sept. 27, statistics still feel inadequate to describe the depth of its wounds.

RALEIGH, N.C. — More North Carolina residents turned out to cast ballots on the first day of early voting this year than in 2020, even as residents from the mountainous western portion of the state continued to recover from the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene.

North Carolina voters set a first-day early voting record despite ongoing hurricane recovery efforts across the state. Residents cast 353,166 in-person ballots Thursday, the state’s board of elections said,