Spotlight: Hurricane Matthew displaces several thousand in North Carolina

Several thousand people have been displaced in North Carolina due to floods from Hurricane Matthew, and a large-scale evacuation is still underway as an enormous swath of the state has fallen into turmoil.

"Certain parts of the state were going through recovery at this point in time...certain parts of the state were still going through ongoing floods," said North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory.

"Now, we have other parts of the state that are about to deal with some very serious circumstances, especially along two of our major rivers," said the governor, who warned of "extremely dangerous" conditions in the coming days in central and eastern parts of the state, where several rivers surged to record or near-record levels.

Matthew, the most powerful Atlantic storm since 2007, has caused 33 deaths in the United States, with more than half in North Carolina, after killing more than 900 people in Haiti.

The storm has dumped more than a foot (30 cm) of rain in many parts of North Carolina. According to the National Weather Service, heavy rainfall has triggered the worst flooding in the state since Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

The full extent of the disaster in North Carolina was still unclear, but it appeared that thousands of homes were damaged, and more were in danger of flooding.

More than 2,000 people have been rescued since the flooding began in North Carolina. Evacuation orders were widespread, and nearly 800 inmates from a prison near the Neuse River have also been evacuated due to rising floodwaters.

In the hard-hit town of Lumberton, along the swollen Lumber River, sporadic looting was reported, and a state trooper had fatally shot a man in Lumberton on Monday night after "a confrontation."

Authorities gave few details about the incident. "All we know is there was a confrontation and a shooting that has resulted in a man's death in very, very difficult circumstances," said governor McCrory.

The governor also asked people not to ignore evacuation orders, saying it was "unacceptable" that about 50 or 60 people were resisting demands that they leave a part of Moore County where a dam was at risk of failing.

President Barack Obama has signed a disaster declaration for North Carolina, making federal funding available to individuals affected by Hurricane Matthew, according to a White House statement.

The disaster declaration will provide assistance to affected residents in 10 North Carolina counties.

The flooding has already extended to South Carolina, where 150 people had to be rescued Monday from the town of Nichols, downstream from Lumberton.

About 532,000 homes and businesses remained without power in the U.S. Southeast on Tuesday, down from the peak of around 2.2 million Sunday morning when the storm was still battering the Carolina coasts. Endi