The UN has warned it could take days for the full impact of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti to emerge, as the death toll soars to more than 800.

The death toll has doubled, and may rise, as rescue teams gain access to southern areas cut off by the storm, reports the BBC.

The World Food Programme's Carlos Veloso says some of the hard-hit towns can only be reached by air or sea.

Many of the deaths in Haiti were in the south-western coast, which suffered the full force of the hurricane this week.

Hurricane Matthew is currently battering the coastline of the US state of Florida but has been downgraded to a Category Two storm, with sustained wind speed dropping to 110mph (177km/h).

Category Five is the strongest on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity.
** Death toll rises at 478 in Haiti storm disaster

BDST: 0918 HRS, OCT 08, 2016
SR