Hurricane Matthew's trail of destruction in Haiti stunned those emerging from the aftermath on Friday, with the number of dead soaring to 877, tens of thousands left homeless and outbreaks of cholera already claiming more lives.

As information trickled in from remote areas that were cut off by the storm, it became clear that at least 175 people had died in villages among the hills and on the coast of Haiti's fertile western tip.

Rural clinics overflowed with patients whose wounds, including broken bones, had not been treated since the storm hit on Tuesday. Food was scarce, and at least seven people had died of cholera, likely because of floodwater mixing with sewage.