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More than two million people in the US have been urged to evacuate their homes because Hurricane Matthew 'is going to kill people' as it strengthens on its way towards the East Coast.

Thousands of families have been caught in gridlock in Florida, the Carolinas and Georgia after fleeing their homes ahead of the storm - which is expected to strike Miami early on Friday morning with winds of up to 145mph.

Governor Rick Scott of Florida, reiterating a call for people to evacuate on Thursday morning said there is no reason not to leave the state.

'Do not surf. Do not go on the beach. This will kill you,' he said.  

The powerful category-three hurricane, the fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade, has already killed at least 65 people in Haiti and four in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday. Matthew is expected to intensify into a 'catastrophic' category-four again as it approaches Florida. At its height, the hurricane was a Category 5 with wind speeds of more than 157 mph. 

The National Weather Service has advised that 'loss of life' and 'immense human suffering' is possible for those who don't take precautions. It could also potentially leave approximately seven million people without power.

President Barack Obama warned: 'I want to emphasise to the public - this is a serious storm. If there is an evacuation order in your community, you need to take it seriously.'

'Just remember that you can always rebuild,' he added. 'You can always repair property. You cannot restore a life if it is lost and we want to make sure that we minimize any possible loss of life or risk to people in these areas.

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Get out! Traffic was backed up for miles as residents make an evacuation route over 520 bridge heading west from Merritt Island, Florida on Wednesday

Preparation: Shoppers crowd the entrance to the Costco store in Altamonte Springs as central Floridians stock up on supplies ahead of the anticipated strike of Hurricane Matthew

Mary Stanley looks at the empty shelves on a bread isle at the Piggly Wiggly grocery store in Leland, North Carolina on Wednesday as residents up and down the East Coast are preparing for Hurricane Matthew to hit Thursday

Bedding down: A shopper walks by the empty shelves where bottled water normally would be on Wednesday at a grocery store in Hollywood, Florida 

South Carolina state troopers direct traffic travelling on I-26 as an evacuation route during preparations for the expected arrival of Hurricane Matthew in Charleston, South Carolina on Wednesday

Motorists wait in a line of cars to buy gas at a Chevron gasoline station on Wednesday in Hollywood, Florida 

Evacuations have begun across the states as the deadly, storm will hit the East Coast (pictured, bus drivers with the Greenville, South Carolina school district wait for word when to start evacuating people to Greenville from North Charleston)

One way traffic: Tailbacks can be seen on just one side of the road stretching back for miles; the other side of the highway is understandably completely empty

The storm gained new muscle over the Bahamas on Thursday morning as it battered the island. The National Hurricane Center warned at 5am that it was about 60 miles south-southeast of Nassau, the capital, which is located on New Providence – home to about 70 per cent of the country's 250,000 people.

Forecasters said the hurricane is likely to hit Florida at around 2am on Friday before heading northwards past Orlando, Jacksonville and up to Charleston.

Some models have suggested that the storm may go out to sea and then do a U-turn and head back to Florida for a devastating double hit.

Gov Scott, warned his state that they needed to 'prepare for a direct hit' as he declared a state of emergency.

'That means people have less than 24 hours to prepare, evacuate and shelter. Having a plan in place could mean the difference between life and death.'

He added that all residents on Florida's Atlantic coast should expect to lose power, 'possibly for a long period of time.' 

'We don't know exactly where this storm's going. Don't trust this track.'

He warned of heavy rain, strong rip currents, beach erosion and storm surge.

'Unfortunately this is going to kill people,' he reiterated. 

'Evacuate, evacuate, evacuate. Be prepared. Don't take a chance.' 

As well as the potential loss of life, researchers at the University of Michigan, Ohio State and Texas A&M have warned Matthew could knock out power for approximately seven million people. 

The National Weather Service also warned that the hurricane could cause the 'complete destruction of mobile homes' adding that certain areas could be rendered 'uninhabitable for weeks of months'. 

Some 3,000 people have already checked into shelters across the state ahead of Matthew's approach.

In preparation, residents flocked to hardware stores, grocery stores and gas stations, stripping them of vital supplies.

One Florida, resident Randy Jordan of Juniper, told WPEC people were shoving each other as they raced to buy the supplies they needed at the local Home Depot.

'The vibe on the street this morning is pre-panic,' Jordan said. 'By tomorrow, it should just be a brawl.'

This NOAA-NASA Goes East project satellite image shows Hurricane Matthew today in the Caribbean; some 1.5 million people are under evacuation orders in Florida in preparation for Matthew to make a direct hit on the state

Brace yourselves: As of this morning, Matthew was expected to hit the south of Florida with winds of up to 145mph early on Friday; as it moves up the coast it will gradually lose speed but will still be as high as 110mph on Saturday morning

Forecasters predict Matthew will strengthen to a Category 4 hurricane, with speeds of more than 130mph by the times it hits Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina

South Carolina has told about a quarter million people to leave the coast and Gov. Nikki Haley says she currently plans to order more evacuations for two more counties Thursday, bringing the total to about 500,000 people

In the eye of the storm: Florida's east coast is expected to be hit with the heaviest winds, with gusts of up to 140mph, with the center of the state and South Carolina also badly hit

 Double trouble: Some models have suggested that the storm may go out to sea and then do a U-turn and head back to Florida for a devastating double hit

 The creepy image, appears to show a white grinning skull, with a glowing red eye, flicked with green at its very center. It appeared in a weather map of the storm as it hit landfall in Haiti on Wednesday

Evacuations began Wednesday and at 3pm, Brevard County commissioners ordered one of the Florida's first evacuations for residents of Merritt Island and other barrier islands.

Martin County has also ordered for homes along the Barrier Islands and Sewall's Point, as well as for residents living in low-lying areas or manufactures homes.

In South Florida, lines at grocery stores were heavier than usual and some essentials were in short supply.

When Simone Corrado and her husband tried to buy water at their Publix in Davie near Fort Lauderdale, they mostly found empty shelves.

There were a few bottles of high-end water brands, but there was so much empty shelf space that Corrado lay down and fully stretched out on the bottom shelf.

'I got scared because all that was left at Publix was just the pricey water,' said Corrado, who lived through 1992's catastrophic Hurricane Andrew, which practically leveled the nearby city of Homestead.

'They really put the fear into you here. On the television screen every few minutes is the 'beep, beep, beep' storm alert.'

Near Miami Beach, The Home Depot in Davie briefly ran out of propane for gas barbecues and the supply of batteries was dwindling.

People bought plywood to cover windows, tarps to put over outdoor furniture and coolers for food storage.

Anesthesiologist Darby Lipka lugged a 20-pound propane tank across the parking lot, saying he had already purchased food and water. He installed hurricane windows years ago so he wouldn't need to erect shutters

'I am just trying to be prepared,' he said.

Dane Vaala, a diesel mechanic, was loading plywood onto his pickup. He needed it so he could stand on his awning to install upper floor shutters at his home.

He moved to Florida from Montana in 2007, so Matthew would be his first storm. He had loaded up on canned food and water.

'I'm not too concerned — it doesn't really bother me much,' he said. 'But it is better to prep.'

Theme parks such as Walt Disney World, Universal and Sea World were also keeping a close eye on the storm and warned customers they could expect different closing times. As of this morning, they remained open, but Disney World cancelled 'Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party', a special event scheduled for tonight.

Hurricane Matthew is seen over the Bahamas in this infrared image from NOAA's GOES-East satellite taken at 7.45am on Thursday; it hit the Bahamas with winds of up to 125mph

Moving on: The storm battered the Bahamas with 125 mph winds on Thursday morning as it continued on its destructive path towards the US

Children sit inside a church destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Saint-Louis, Haiti; Rescue workers in Haiti struggled to reach cutoff towns and learn the full extent of the death and destruction caused by Hurricane Matthew

A woman cries amid the rubble of her home, destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Baracoa, Cuba on Wednesday 

People walk next to destroyed houses after Hurricane Matthew passes Jeremie, Haiti on Wednesday 

Red Cross workers and residents walk among the damage caused by Hurricane Matthew in Baracoa, Cuba on Wednesday

A boy and a woman walk next to remains of houses destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Baracoa, Cuba on Wednesday

A woman removes debris from homes that fell in the street after the passing of Hurricane Matthew in Baracoa, Cuba on Wednesday

South Carolina has told about a quarter million people to leave the coast and Scott's counterpart Gov. Nikki Haley says she currently plans to order more evacuations for two more counties today, bringing the total to about 500,000 people. She said on Thursday morning however that only 175,000 have evacuated so far adding 'that's not enough'. She warned that gas stations will soon close.

'We've been though winter storms. We've been through a 1,000-year flood. A hurricane is different. I don't want anyone to look at the last couple of tragedies we've gone through and think this is similar,' Haley said.

City officials in Charleston, which weathered Category 4 Hurricane Hugo almost 30 years ago, warned the city had run out of sandbags after distributing more than for any other storm. The city has distributed more than 15,000 sandbags.

A motorist in South Carolina's Berkeley County was shot and wounded by deputies during an altercation over an evacuation route. The motorist came to a check point, knocked down some traffic cones and sped off. Sheriff Duane Lewis said when deputies caught up with the driver a few miles away he pointed a gun at them and started shooting.

As residents in the Southeast prepared to leave their homes behind, many found that trying to get out of town was difficult due to the sheer numbers of people leaving at the same time.

Hundreds of thousands were stuck in traffic on highways due to evacuation orders being issued by government officials.

'It was bumper to bumper and fairly slow for about 30 to 40 miles on either side of I-95,' Sarah Boessenecker told NBC News.

'However, people were very friendly and easygoing — no honking or impatience'.

'People seemed to know the drill and understand that traffic was going to be bad and had accepted it.'

She and her husband, Robert were trying to make the trip from Charleston, South Carolina to Atlanta, where friends had offered to host them.

Get out of the water: JJ Sanguily, of Palm Beach Gardens, surfs at Jupiter Beach Park; Governor Rick Scott of Florida has warned people not to surf, to get out the water and evacuate

A local resident collects sand in a bag from the Neptune beach (left) to use for flood protection at his house in Jacksonville, Florida; Meanwhile (right) a local resident jogs at dawn in a coastal line neighborhood in Jacksonville

Thomas Carrigan, bar manager at Siam Orchid restaurant in Cocoa Beach, Florida, works to board up the front of the restaurant on Wednesday 

Employees of Siam Orchid restaurant in Cocoa Beach, Florida, work to prepare for the hurricane that's arriving on Thursday

Workers board up a restaurant ahead of hurricane Matthew in Atlantic Beach, Florida on Wednesday

Rene Anger fills and stacks sandbags in front of her Cherry Street home in Neptune Beach, Florida on Wednesday

For Lydia Dalton, she said it took her family a 'long time to get out of Charleston' on Interstate 26.

'We thought we were leaving way ahead of everyone else,' Dalton said.

Residents in Charleston and Beaufort counties began their evacuations at noon on Wednesday.

The National Guard was mobilized Wednesday and more than 300 buses had been set aside to transport families fleeing their homes to safety ahead of the storm, and lane reversals leading out of Charleston began at 3pm.

Traffic was backed up for miles as people fled Charleston on Interstate 26, with gasoline a precious commodity with at least half a dozen stations along the coast out of fuel.

Not everyone is heeding the warning to leave, however.

'We're staying because we have to board the house up,' said Buff Schwab, who stocked up on supplies yesterday.

Still open? Kevin Forde (L) and John Haughey put up plywood on a window as they prepare for Hurricane Matthew as it approaches the area in Miami Beach

Fred Whitaker installs plywood to protect a business's windows ahead of Hurricane Matthew in Titusville, Florida on Wednesday

Aidano Medioli pushes a cart with panels of plywood, used to cover windows, onto his car as he prepares for the arrival of the storm in Miami, Florida

Eduardo Menijvar loads panels of plywood, used to cover windows, onto his car in Miami to get ready for the storm on Wednesday

People along the East Coast have been flocking to hardware stores, grocery aisles and gas stations to prepare for the devastating hurricane (a station sold out of gas in anticipation of Hurricane Matthew in Surfside Beach, South Carolina)

Gas stations have been left empty as South Carolina residents rushed to fill up before the storm hits on Friday

Florida coastal resorts, such as Daytona Beach, now resemble boarded-up ghost towns as people leave ahead of the storm

Hundreds of thousands of families along the coast have either fled their homes or have been battening down the hatches in anticipation of the deadly storm which is expected to make landfall in the US on Thursday (Staff at Banana Cabana on the Isle of Palms, South Carolina board up the beach front institution in preparation for Hurricane Matthew)

Chris Ramsey installs plywood panels over windows at a auto stereo and window tint shop in preparation for Hurricane Matthew, Wednesday, in Cocoa Beach, Florida

Tanner, left, and Debbie Hrobak, of Port St. Lucie, install storm shutters on their store in Stuart, Florida, ahead of Hurricane Matthew on Wednesday

Stocking up: People load plywood into vehicles ahead of the approaching Hurricane on Satellite Beach, Florida

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency in 13 coastal counties yesterday because of Hurricane Matthew.

The White House said President Barack Obama canceled a campaign and health care events in Florida on Wednesday and would instead visit the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for an update.

Meanwhile airlines and cruise lines prepared for Matthew by cancelling thousands of flights and rerouting cruise stops.

US airliners cancelled more than 1,500 flights on Wednesday and a further 1,070 on Thursday. Fort Lauderdale airport plans to close at 10.30am today, while Miami and Orlando airports both said they would continue monitoring the storm.

American Airlines is expected to see the most cancellations, as the company has large operations in Miami and Charlotte. American and most other airlines are letting passengers change travel plans without penalty if their trip is affected.

Several ports in Miami closed Wednesday and Thursday, with ships already at sea being rerouted to western Caribbean routes. The Carnival Sensation, which was set to sail from Miami Thursday will instead sail on Friday, assuming PortMiami reopens, conditions permitting.

Several cruise ships are being rerouted from their regularly scheduled Caribbean and Bahamas ports to Key West. Key West is about 40 miles south of the portion of the Florida not currently under a tropical storm warning.

Dimitri Pinckney installs hurricane shutters in advance of Hurricane Matthew on the Isle of Palms, South Carolina

Kristen Allen, center front, and Travis Scott, right, fill bags with sand to prevent flooding to a nearby gift shop as they prepare for the hurricane, Wednesday, in Cocoa Beach

A pedestrian walks across normally busy Ocean Boulevard ahead of the expected Friday arrival of Hurricane Matthew in Surfside Beach, South Carolina

Some coastal regions have been left ghost towns, with business closed in preparation for Matthew. One Myrtle Beach restaurant in South Carolina, shows a message revealing it is 'closed until (South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley) tells us what to do'

A worker moves supports in place for boats that will be docked on land in preparation for Hurricane Matthew at Port Canaveral, Florida

As Hurricane Matthew approached the Bahamas, officials say nine Royal Bahamas Defence Force vessels have moored at Truman Harbor in Key West.

Naval Air Station Key West spokeswoman Trice Denny says a University of Miami Rosentiel School research called the Whalton Smith is expected to arrive in port in Key West on Wednesday.

Officials are also expecting the USNS Spearhead on Saturday, a 337-foot-long joint (Navy/Army) high-speed catamaran vessel, to be positioned in Key West for possible aid missions.

THOUSANDS OF FLIGHTS CANCELLED, TRAIN SERVICES SUSPENDED AND CRUISES REROUTED AS MATTHEW SPARKS TRAVEL CHAOS

Flights are cancelled, Amtrak services are suspended and streets are gridlocked as Florida braces itself for the deadly Hurricane Matthew. 

Flights in and out of Florida will be heavily affected today as the state's main airports warn of closures, cancellations and delays.

Fort Lauderdale International Airport, Florida, has already announced plans to close today from 10.30am.   

Meanwhile, Miami International Airport announced yesterday it was cancelling 100 flights, both arriving and departing the airport today. Orlando International Airport say they plan to being 'reducing flights into Orlando and altering schedules starting Thursday, lasting through Friday.'

Flights are cancelled, Amtrak services are suspended and streets are gridlocked as Florida braces itself for the deadly Hurricane Matthew (A man looks at a board announcing all the cancelled flights at Lynden Pindling International Airport in the Bahamas due to Hurricane Matthew)

Airports don't generally operate in sustained crosswinds that exceed 35 mph.

Other airports across Florida have warned customers to check flight status with the airlines before heading to the airport. 

American Airlines, South Florida's largest carrier, has already canceled most flights slated to depart Thursday from Florida's main airports. 

Most airlines, including the likes of American Airlines and Delta, are also letting fliers change to a later flight with no penalty. 

Amtrak is also temporarily suspending services in the south due to severe weather impacting the east coast of Florida.

Amtrak is also temporarily suspending services in the south due to severe weather impacting the east coast of Florida (Amtrak Silver Star at Orlando Station)

The Silver Star 91 & 92 (New York City to Miami), Silver Meteor 97 & 98 (Miami to New York City), and the Auto Train 52 & 53 (Lorton, Va., to Sanford, Florida) services have all been cancelled for Thursday and Friday. No alternative service will run.

Cruise lines are shuffling ship itineraries as PortMiami, PortEverglades and the PortMiami Tunnel were shut down. Other cruises have been delayed or have reduced scheduled to try and avoid the worst of the storm.

South Carolina has told about a quarter million people to leave the coast and Gov. Nikki Haley says she currently plans to order more evacuations for two more counties Thursday, bringing the total to about 500,000 people.

Hundreds of thousands were stuck in traffic on highways due to evacuation orders being issued by government officials. 

Waterfront hospitals and nursing homes have also been forced to evacuate in the face of the coming storm. 

The Department of State had also authorized family members of US government employees to depart the Bahamas, and issued a travel warning for the area.

Dangerous high winds caused destruction as they whipped through Haiti, southern Cuba and the Dominican Republic yesterday, with flooding and landslides destroying homes, businesses and bringing down electricity lines.

Haiti's interior ministry said that 65 people had died on the island, many killed by falling trees, flying debris and swollen rivers. The number includes a group of 24 people killed in the coastal town of Roche-a-Bateau.

'I've never seen anything like this,' said the town's delegate Louis Paul Raphael.

Four people have also died in the the neighboring Dominican Republic.

In Cuba, residents were seen walking through the rubble strewn streets, and digging through the remains of broken buildings trying to recover their belongings.

Completely empty: This supermarket in Florida has been stripped completely clean by residents either fleeing or bedding down and waiting for the storm to hit

Miami residents flock to the grocery aisles to buy supplies as the eerily skull-shaped Hurricane Matthew marches toward Florida

Shoppers arrive to the Costco store in Altamonte Springs as central Floridians stock up on supplies ahead of the anticipated storm

Miami residents buy up big supplies of water on Wednesday to be prepared for when Hurricane Matthew hits Florida 

Worried Miami residents buy up wooden boards at a hardware store to help protect their homes and businesses against the coming storm

Lumber manager Shawn Ferris, left, helps customer Ed Painter load plywood in preparation for Hurricane Matthew, Wednesday, in Jacksonville, Florida 

Bret Hansen reads over the specs of a generator at The Home Depot in Monkey Junction near Wilmington, North Carolina, as Hurricane Matthew comes up the east coast

Shoppers buy cases and cases of water on Wednesday in Miami as they prepared for Hurricane Matthew which is predicted to hit the state on Thursday 

Jesse Canady brings out a new load of generators at The Home Depot in Monkey Junction near Wilmington 

Patrons wait in line for gas at the Costco store in Altamonte Springs, Florida, to buy supplies before Hurricane Matthew hits

People line up to fill their cars with gas in anticipation of Hurricane Matthew, in Coral Springs, Florida,  October 5 

A United Nations official said Hurricane Matthew has caused the biggest humanitarian crisis in Haiti since the devastating earthquake of 2010.

Strong winds and heavy rain hit Haiti on Thursday, which revised its death toll to 65, including a 26-year-old man who drowned trying to rescue a child who fell into flood waters. The child was saved, authorities said. One woman was killed by a falling electrical pole.

More than 430,000 were evacuated from the island, the poorest region in the Western Hemisphere, ahead of the hurricane.

'You could see a death toll in the thousands,' Colorado State University meteorologist Phil Klotzbach had warned as life-threatening 145mph winds and heavy rain battered the island.

Deputy Special Representative for Haiti Mourad Wahba says in a statement that many people have been forced from their homes and communications systems have been knocked out in the country's hard-hit southwestern peninsula. He said at least 10,000 people are in shelters.

People along the East Coast are flocking to pick up sandbags, raiding hardware stores, grocery aisles and gas stations as Hurricane Matthew marched toward Florida

Long lines in Sandford, central Florida for the free sandbags as residents prepare for the approaching hurricane

A minivan is packed full of sandbags which will be used to protect against flooding and high winds in Florida

Residents are filling sandbags in 90 degree weather in preparation for the approaching hurricane as even the little ones get in on the act

Workers in bright orange shirts help families load up sandbags on Wednesday morning in Sandford, Central Florida

The government have offered free sandbags for Florida residents as they prepare for the approaching storm

A long queue of cars forms in central Florida as residents line up to collect free sandbags to help protect their homes

Wahba says officials have received reports of destroyed houses and overflowing hospitals, with shortages fresh water. He also says the hospital in the city of Les Cayes had its roof blown off.

But with a key bridge washed out, roads impassable and phone communications down, the western tip of Haiti was isolated and there was no word on dead and injured.

Hours after Matthew swept onto the remote area with 145 mph winds, government leaders said they weren't close to fully gauging the impact in the vulnerable, flood-prone country where less powerful storms have killed thousands.

International aid efforts were stymied Tuesday because of the lack of access to the hardest-hit areas, many residents of flooded areas seen by Associated Press reporters were wading through shin-high waters.

Muddy rivers and tributaries continued to rise as water flowed down hillsides and mountains, making more flash floods and mudslides possible even Matthew tracked away from the country.

During a weather forecast on Wednesday, the deadly storm seemed to take on an ominous skull shape to the shock of many viewers.

The creepy picture, which appears to show a white grinning skull with a glowing red eye, was taken from a NASA satellite and shows the hurricane as it made landfall in Haiti. Many took the 'skull of Matthew's' eye, as a bad omen as the deadly storm moves towards to U.S.

'I can confirm this satellite image of Matthew's landfall is REAL and not photoshopped,' said Matt Devitt, from the WINK News team in Florida, was noticed the skull while giving a forecast yesterday

'Captured this morning during my weathercast. Freaky!'

However, meteorologists were quick to assure the public that the image was simply a fluke, as the map used different colors used to identified the strongest part of the storm. 

President Barack Obama on Wednesday said the U.S. government has teams and supplies positioned to respond to Hurricane Matthew as the storm barrels toward Florida and other southeastern states

Hurricane Hermine became the first to strike Florida since Wilma in 2005 when it hit the eastern Panhandle on September 2 as a Category 1 storm, causing one death, storm surge damage to beachfront homes and downed trees and powerlines.

That 11-year lull between storms hitting Florida was the longest on record. The last storm to hit the Atlantic side of Florida was Hurricane Katrina, which struck in 2005 on its way to devastating the Gulf coast.

Wilma made landfall as a Category 3 storm with 120 mph winds, killing five people as it pushed from southwest Florida, through the Everglades and into the Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach area, causing an estimated $21 billion in damage and leaving thousands of residents without power for more than a week.

It concluded a two-year span when a record eight hurricanes hit the state.

Two men struggle to secure their home with wooden boarding on Bailou Hill Road as Hurricane Matthew approaches Nassau, Bahamas, October 5

Mark Cartwright loads up on food and supplies at the store ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Matthew in Nassau, Bahamas 

People carry some of their belongings through the rubble of a street after the passing of Hurricane Matthew in Baracoa, Cuba, Wednesday,where the hurricane rolled across the sparsely populated tip of Cuba overnight 

Red Cross workers and residents walk among the damage caused by Hurricane Matthew in Baracoa, Cuba 

A bent stop sign lies amid debris, felled by Hurricane Matthew in Baracoa,Cuba's easternmost city 

People look to salvage personal belongings from their homes damaged by Hurricane Matthew in Baracoa, Cuba, Wednesday 

People wade through a street flooded by a nearby river overflowing from the heavy rains caused by Hurricane Matthew, in Leogane, Haiti, Wednesday

People try to cross the overflowing Rouyonne river in the commune of Leogane, south of Port-au-Prince, Haiti which was blasted by Matthew yesterday

A motorcyclist rides through the floodwater after Rouyonne river burst its banks following the hurricane in the commune of Leogane, south of Port-au-Prince, on Wednesday

A family clings hold of one another as they try to cross the over flowing Rouyonne river in Haiti where residents began the messy and probably grim task of assessing the storm's toll

Men dig through the rubble of a collapsed building in Baracoa, Cuba, in the aftermath of the hurricane which battered the island last night

A man is comforted as Cubans begin the slow process of repairing and rebuilding following the trail of devastation left by Matthew

A view of partially destroyed banana trees at a road side after the passage of hurricane Matthew on the coast of Guantanamo province, Cuba, October 5

The rubble left after Hurricane Matthew blew through yesterday destroying homes and business in southern Cuba

A man looks pensive as he sits atop a pile of rubble after the hurricane wreaked destruction in Cuba yesterday

A couple embrace in the remains of their home that was destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Baracoa, Cuba, Wednesday

The streets are filled with broken roofing, bricks and other detritus after Matthew blew through Cuba

Hurricane Matthew left serious damage at the eastern end of Cuba, with landslides, toppling electricity poles and cutting off roads by floods

Cubans stand outside an apartment block on October 5, and consider the damage and havoc caused by Hurricane Matthew

A Cuban street in the Guantanamo province (seen this morning), is buried under huge slabs of rock after Hurricane Matthew passed through yesterday

The coastal road between Guantanamo and Baracoa was left broken and battered after Hurricane Matthew passed through the eastern tip of Cuba on Tuesday afternoon