Hurricane Matthew: Severe flooding triggered in North Carolina as Haiti faces cholera outbreak

Ex-Hurricane Matthew triggered severe flooding in North Carolina as the deteriorating storm made its exit to the sea, and thousands of people had to be rescued from their homes and cars.

Matthew was downgraded Sunday to a post-tropical cyclone after cutting a swath from Florida to North Carolina that left at least 17 dead.

As of 1500 GMT (2am Monday AEDT), the storm was packing 75 mile per hour (120 km/h) winds as it moved away from the North Carolina coastline, although it was still described as packing a punch.

Behind it lay widespread flooding, washed out roads, downed power lines and trees and other havoc. Still, the United States seems to have dodged a bullet: as recently as Thursday night the predictions of storm damage bordered on the apocalyptic.

"As the sun rises in North Carolina and the blue sky returns, our state is facing major destruction and, sadly, loss of life,'' Governor Pat McCrory said as the effects of Saturday's deluge became clearer at daylight.

Governor McCrory said police and emergency crews had made more than 880 water rescues.

The governor said four people were missing in the Fayetteville area, and that the full scale of the disaster was not yet known because the flooding continued overnight and there were many places that search teams had not yet reached.

Most of the deaths happened when vehicles were swept away by floodwaters.

In Haiti, where Matthew was a monster Category 4 when it slammed into the poorest country in the western hemisphere on Tuesday, the official death toll rose to at least 336. It is believed the actual figure is closer to 900, with a Reuters count putting the number dead at 877.

An updated official toll may not be announced until Wednesday. The interim president of Haiti, Jocelerme Privert, has announced three days of national mourning, which began yesterday.

The nation faces a growing cholera outbreak that threatens to turn its disaster even more deadly.

In Port Salut, a smashed-up town on Haiti's southern peninsula that was among those that bore the brunt of Hurricane Matthew -- the Caribbean's most powerful storm in a nearly decade -- fears are rising.

The town's sole hospital on Sunday recorded its first death from the disease, a man of undisclosed age.

Another nine patients brought in within the past two days are being treated for the illness, which is caught from contaminated water.

Other cholera deaths have been reported in different parts of southern Haiti.

The outbreak is especially alarming for this destitute tropical nation. In the wake of a catastrophic earthquake in 2010, cholera was inadvertently introduced by UN peacekeepers and went on to kill around 10,000 people.

With AFP.