Death toll in Haiti rises to more than 300

The full extent of Hurricane Matthew's impact on the Carribean nation of Haiti is becoming clear, as officials confirmed the death toll may be as high as 300.

The US state of Florida is now bracing itself for the storm, which has been graded as a category three by the The National Hurricane Center.

Senator Herve Fourcand from southern Haiti told AFP news agency that more than 300 people had died, with other unconfirmed reports putting the number as high as 339.

Hurricane Matthew also hit the Bahamas after making its way through both Haiti and Cuba.

Winds of 145mph and torrential rain battered through Haiti on Tuesday, destroying more than 3,000 homes and displacing up to 15,000 people.

The scale of the destruction became more apparent on Thursday as the storm died down, as Haitian authorities and humanitarian organisations worked to help those most affected.

The country's south coast has been particularly affected by Matthew, with the port towns of Les Cayes being described as "catastrophic".

"The situation in Les Cayes is catastrophic, the city is flooded, you have trees lying in different places and you can barely move around," its deputy mayor, Claudette Regis Delerme, told Reuters.

Citizens in Florida have been urged to evacuate coastal areas, as areas of Miami have already been hit, leaving 200,000 homes and businesses without power.