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Hurricane Matthew's death toll rises to 20 in US

Rob Birch salvages a speaker from the trunk of his car which floated out of his drive way as Hurricane Matthew passes through the area on October 7, 2016 in St Augustine, Florida. (Photo by AFP)

The death toll from Hurricane Matthew has reached 20 in the United States, with more than 2 million American homes and businesses without power.

Matthew, the most powerful Atlantic storm since 2007, has left a path of carnage from the Caribbean up the US Southeast coast.

On Sunday, the storm's remnant headed out to sea, as it was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone.

The deadly storm has killed ten people in the State of North Carolina since Sunday. With five people reported missing and rivers rising, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory said he expected more deaths.

"Hurricane Matthew is off the map, but it is still with us and it is still deadly," Governor McCrory said, forecasting a week of "life and death" threats.

McCrory said 334 rescue workers risked their lives carrying out 877 rescues overnight. "These rescue teams, I've got to let you know, they are extremely exhausted at this time."

Florida reported five storm-related deaths, Georgia and South Carolina each had three deaths.

Many coastal and inland communities were still under water, and dangerous conditions existed from damaged homes and broken power lines.

In Virginia, the city of Norfolk declared a state of emergency and urged its citizens to remain off the road. More than 300,000 residents in the state have lost power.

All parks, recreation centers, libraries and the Virginia Aquarium were closed in the city of Virginia Beach.

Florida Governor Rick Scott described the damage, including beach erosion and washed out roads, as "unbelievable." Scott said 132,000 homes still had no power.

Matthew, which was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone on Sunday, killed nearly 900 people in Haiti.


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