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.
Damage to one road in #Simpson, NC, shot by a @wnct9 photojournalist. We spoke with the driver of the car, who just crashed this a.m. pic.twitter.com/4MUWHthHD2
— 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.
The destroyed house on Edisto Beach @ABCNews4 @KATVToddYak pic.twitter.com/QnDWq9uBRo
— 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:
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)
An employee of Cross Creek Body Shop takes photos of damage due to floodwaters caused by rain from Hurricane Matthew in Fayetteville, N.C., Sunday. (Photo: Chuck Burton/AP Photo)
A damaged home in Savannah, Ga., is seen Sunday after a tree split and fell through the roof and front wall early Friday morning as Hurricane Matthew affected the Georgia coast. Homeowner Karen Currier said she and her husband were inside and escaped with a few scratches. (Photo: Kathleen Foody/AP Photo)
An official vehicle navigates debris as it passes along Highway A1A after it was partial washed away by Hurricane Matthew, Friday in Flagler Beach, Fla. Hurricane Matthew spared Florida's most heavily populated stretch from a catastrophic blow Friday but threatened some of the South's most historic and picturesque cities with ruinous flooding and wind damage as it pushed its way up the coastline. (Photo: Eric Gay/AP Photo)
Boats sit pushed up amongst the twisted docks at Palmetto Bay Marina damaged by Hurricane Matthew in Hilton Head, S.C., Sunday. (Photo: David Goldman/AP Photo)
In this aerial photo, portions of SR A1A are washed out from Hurricane Matthew, Saturday, in Flagler Beach, Fla. The damage from Matthew caused beach erosion, washed out some roads and knocked out power for more than 1 million customers in several coastal counties. (Photo: Chris O'Meara/AP Photo)
Eric Brown stands near a small apartment in his backyard Sunday heavily damaged by a fallen water oak during Hurricane Matthew that went through Savannah, Ga. Brown's main house in Southeast Savannah wasn't damaged. (Photo: Kathleen Foody/AP Photo)
H.V. Bailey looks at damage to a neighbor's home at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Saturday after Hurricane Matthew passed through Friday. (Photo: Charlie Riedel/AP Photo)
A trailer is destroyed from a fallen tree in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew at Hilton Head, S.C., on Saturday. (Photo: Jeffrey Collins/AP Photo)
A woman who identified herself as Valerie walks along flooded President Street after leaving her homeless camp after Hurricane Matthew caused flooding, Saturday in Savannah, Ga. (Photo: Stephen B. Morton/AP Photo)
A damaged beach home stands beyond a fallen palm tree at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Saturday after Hurricane Matthew passed through Friday. (Photo: Charlie Riedel/AP Photo) 
Jerrald Siciliani holds Janie as he looks over the damages incurred to his girlfriend's home by Hurricane Matthew, Saturday in Flagler Beach, Fla. The home received some water damage and broken windows and lost her closed-in porch. (Photo: Eric Gay/AP Photo) 
A laundry machine sits in a flooded section of what used to be a four-lane national scenic byway and is now covered in sand after Hurricane Matthew hit the tiny beach community of Edisto Beach, S.C., Saturday. (Photo: David Goldman/AP Photo)
In this aerial photo, a roof is shown partially torn off after Hurricane Matthew brushed Florida's east coast early Friday, in St. Augustine, Fla. The damage from Matthew caused beach erosion, washed out some roads and knocked out power for more than 1 million customers in several coastal counties. (Photo: Chris O'Meara/AP Photo)
A battered beach house stands beyond a destroyed seawall at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Saturday after Hurricane Matthew passed through Friday. (Photo: Charlie Riedel/AP Photo)
A woman cries amid the rubble of her home, destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Baracoa, Cuba, Wednesday. The hurricane rolled across the sparsely populated tip of Cuba overnight, destroying dozens of homes in Cuba's easternmost city, Baracoa, leaving hundreds of others damaged. (Photo: Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo) 
A car stands on its side after being blown away by winds brought by Hurricane Matthew in Jeremie, Haiti, Friday. People across southwest Haiti were digging through the wreckage of their homes Friday, salvaging what they could of their meager possessions after Matthew killed hundreds of people in the impoverished country. (Photo: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP Photo)
Homes lay in ruins after the passing of Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday. Two days after the storm rampaged across the country's remote southwestern peninsula, authorities and aid workers still lack a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years. (Photo: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP Photo)
A salvaged chair hangs in a tree amidst nearby homes destroyed by Hurricane Matthew, in a seaside fishing neighborhood of Port Salut, Haiti, Sunday. Nearly a week after the storm smashed into southwestern Haiti, some communities along the southern coast have yet to receive any assistance, leaving residents who have lost their homes and virtually all of their belongings struggling to find shelter and potable water. (Photo: Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)
Related:
Forecasters can see Hurricane Matthew's damage before it happens
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.