Rachel Ellis (left) and J'Nay Fitch salvage items from the AutoZone store where they work in Lake Charles, Louisiana. AFP

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.

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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.

Power lines are downed, caused by Hurricane Laura, along East Mcneese St. in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Scott Clause/ AP

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.

A destroyed shrimping boat is seen after the passing of hurricane Laura in Hackberry, Louisiana. AFP

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.

Trump to head to Louisiana

The angry storm surge has receded and the clean up has begun from Hurricane Laura, but officials along this shattered stretch of Louisiana coast are warning returning residents they will face weeks without power or water amid the hot, stifling days of late summer.

The US toll from the Category 4 hurricane stood at 14 deaths, with more than half of those killed by carbon monoxide poisoning from the unsafe operation of generators.

US President Donald Trump speaks with the media at White House in Washington. File photo

President Donald Trump plans on Saturday to tour the damage in Louisiana and neighboring Texas. He told reporters he considered delaying his Thursday night speech accepting the Republican Party’s nomination for reelection because of the storm. But he said that, as "it turned out, we got a little bit lucky. It was very big, it was very powerful, but it passed quickly. ”

Across southwestern Louisiana, people were cleaning up from the destructive hurricane that roared ashore early Thursday, packing 150-mph (240-kph) winds. Many were deciding whether they wanted to stay in miserable conditions or wait until basic services are finally restored.

Lauren Sylvester returned to her townhouse in Lake Charles on Friday after heeding a mandatory evacuation order and staying with her mother in a city about 95 miles (130 kilometers) away.

The inside of her unit was not directly damaged, but the roof lost shingles. Around her home, it was a different story. Power lines and trees were down.

Agencies