As officials deploy helicopters and John Caldwellhigh-water response vehicles to aid North Carolina communities devastated by Hurricane Helene, mules are being used to reach otherwise inaccessible areas.

Volunteers on mules are transporting essentials like food, water and insulin to Helene victims in mountainous parts of western North Carolina. All roads in western North Carolina are declared closed to all non-emergency travel by the NC Emergency Management due to the extensive damage.

Mules hauled food and supplies to the Buncombe County town of Black Mountain on Tuesday, Mountain Mule Packers wrote on Facebook. The organization said volunteers would head toward Swannanoa, where homes have been flattened and roads are impassable.

"They have had many roles in their careers, from hauling camping gear and fresh hunt, pulling wagons and farm equipment; to serving in training the best of the very best of our military special forces, carrying weapons, medical supplies, and even wounded soldiers," Mountain Mule Packers wrote.

Among the donated essentials include brooms, shovels, batteries, water filters, diapers, feminine hygiene products, toothbrushes, blankets and clothing, according to Mountain Mule Packers.

Helene death toll of 162 expected to rise

Helene and its remnants have killed at least 162 people through several Southeast states since its landfall along the Florida Gulf Coast Thursday night.

Historic torrential rain and unprecedented flooding led to storm-related fatalities in the Carolinas, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia. Officials expect the death toll to rise while hundreds are still missing throughout the region amid exhaustive searches and communication blackouts.

A new study published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed British journal Nature suggests hurricanes and tropical storms like Helene can indirectly cause far more deaths over time than initial tolls suggest.

An average U.S. tropical cyclone indirectly causes 7,000 to 11,000 excess deaths, due to factors like cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, suicide and sudden infant death syndrome, according to the journal.

Contributing:Doyle Rice,Christopher Cann and Phaedra Trethan