Officials: At least 6 Tennessee deaths linked to Helene

State of play: Sheehan said the flooding had devastated infrastructure in the eastern edge of the state.

• "This kind of disaster is a years and decades kind of recovery," Sheehan said.

Zoom in: Hundreds of Tennessee bridges were affected by flooding, and several of them remain unusable, Sheehan said.

• More than a dozen public water utilities have reported problems that could affect the availability of drinking water. Water bottle distribution is one of his agency's top priorities.
• Ongoing problems with communication infrastructure are hampering recovery operations.

The big picture: "This is going to be a long haul," Sheehan said of the recovery work. "People are going to be frustrated and things are going to seem slow, and sometimes they are going to be slow."

• "But we're doing everything we can to rapidly get resources there to support these communities and to make sure that we are stabilizing infrastructure."

How to help: "Cash is the best way to help survivors," Sheehan said. He encouraged people to donate to established, reputable fundraisers.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect a new tally of storm-related fatalities.