Hurricane Matthew battered the coast of the southeastern United States, leaving behind a trail of coastal destruction, freshwater flooding and wind damage that has claimed at least 19 lives, according to the Weather Channel.

Hurricane Matthew made landfall at 11 a.m. EDT near McClellanvile, South Carolina on Saturday morning and worked its way up along the coast, The New York Times reported.

Severe flooding

Record-breaking flooding has occurred in North Carolina after Hurricane Matthew dumped 6 to 16 inches of rain on eastern parts of the state.

Emergency crews in boats rescued hundreds of people from floodwaters and plucked others from rooftops by helicopter in North Carolina on Sunday before the storm turned out to sea and was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued warnings about flash floods, the leading cause of weather-related deaths.

— Lauren Sagl (@LaurenSagl) Oct. 9, 2016

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory warned residents that the threat of imminent flooding would persist all week as many rivers are expeted to top record-braking levels.

The Fayetteville, North Carolina, Emergency Operations Center said response teams rescued nearly 700 people overnight in the Fayetteville and Cumberland County areas alone, while 503 people were being housed in area shelters, according to NBC News.

Dam failure worries

As floodwaters continued to rise, officials were worried that a dam northwest of Fayetteville, North Carolina could fail, and some residents were ordered to evacuate. The dam failure could raise flooding in areas like Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base and Spring Lake, the Weather Channel reported.

— Brian Emfinger (@brianemfinger) Oct, 9, 2016

In Virginia, where more than 300,000 customers lost power overnight Saturday, the cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach declared a state of emergency and urged its citizens to remain off the road, according to Reuters. Virginia Beach officials say they have asked for help from the National Guard, including high water vehicles and debris reduction crews.

Take a look at scenes from Haiti to North Carolina that tell the story of Hurricane Matthew:

rooftop rescue

In this frame from video provided by WRAL, a man is rescued from a flooded home Sunday in Pinetops, N.C. Hurricane Matthew's torrential rains triggered severe flooding in North Carolina on Sunday as the deteriorating storm made its exit to the sea, and thousands of people had to be rescued from their homes and cars. (WRAL via AP Photo)

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