At least 14 people were killed after Hurricane Laura slammed into the southern US states of Louisiana and Texas, authorities and local media said Friday.

Louisiana's Governor John Bel Edwards confirmed at least 10 people had died in his state, half from using carbon monoxide-producing portable generators indoors in the aftermath of the storm making landfall Thursday.

Four of the remaining deaths were caused by trees falling on people's homes, according to Edwards, while a man drowned after his boat sank in the storm.

There were 464,813 customers without power in Louisiana on Friday, according to the site Poweroutage.us.

Texas ended up being spared the brunt of the hurricane, which has since weakened significantly. Three of the state's four deaths were also reportedly due to carbon monoxide poisoning from generators.

Those victims, all believed to be homeless, had sought shelter in a pool hall in the southeastern town of Port Arthur and carried its generator inside, according to the Beaumont Enterprise.

Local media reported Friday morning that a man died in East Texas, although it is unconfirmed that he was a direct victim of the hurricane.

The CBS affiliate for East Texas said the man was killed when a tree fell on his mobile home in Hemphill.

Earlier Friday, Haiti's civil protection service said 31 people had died due to Hurricane Laura, which blasted the island nation as a tropical storm last weekend before turning into a powerful Category 4 hurricane.

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'Unsurvivable' storm surge feared as Hurricane Laura strengthens to Cat 4
Lake Charles, United States (AFP) Aug 27, 2020
Hurricane Laura was barreling towards the coast of the southern US states of Louisiana and Texas on Wednesday as a monster Category 4 storm, prompting warnings of "unsurvivable" storm surge and evacuation orders for hundreds of thousands of Gulf Coast residents. The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said Laura was expected to make landfall along the Gulf Coast late Wednesday or early Thursday. Packing winds of 150 miles per hour (240 kilometers per hour), Laura had strengthened almost to Cat ... read more