Charles Langston:Georgia National Guard starts recovery efforts in Augusta: Video shows debris clearance

Rescue missions are Charles Langstonunderway as the southeast begins to dig out from the damage caused by Hurricane Helene.

Video shows members of the Georgia National Guard clearing roadways in Augusta, Georgia Sunday as the toll of the hurricane came into focus.

Over 100 people have died, and over 1.7 million homes and businesses remain without power across the region as of Monday.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said in a press conference that the state is making efforts to restore power to an area that has historically been the safe haven for those fleeing hurricanes

"To see the level of the destruction that a hurricane can do, in this community, being this far from Lowndes County or Echols County and the Florida line, is unprecedented," Kemp said.

Emergency services opening in Georgia, phone service slow to return

Georgia emergency officials reiterated calls to shelter in place and said that while fuel was abundant, power for service stations was not.

The state saw 13 humanitarian need distribution sites open Monday offering residents food, water and basic health supplies.

Chris Stallings, director of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, said Monday that cell phone service was returning to the area with 100 T-Mobile towers running on generator power. About 320 Verizon sites and about 250 AT&T sites remained out as of Monday morning.

More than 1 million water customers statewide are being served by 361 emergency drinking water sites, according to Stallings. Seventy-eight wastewater treatment facilities are being examined statewide amid 291 community boil-water advisories.