Ten children were among those who died in river floods in the country's south, said Emmanuel Pierre, who heads the country's civil defense agency.

Emergency responders were conducting searches for the missing, he added.

The flooding of the Digue River destroyed several homes in the coastal town of Petit-Goave, several residents reported.

"People have been killed, houses have been swept away by the water," resident Steeve Louissaint told AFP.

In videos not verified by AFP, residents could be seen searching for their loved ones. A father was recorded in tears as he removed his daughter's lifeless body from under a pile of debris.

Hurricane Melissa, the most powerful hurricane to make landfall in 90 years, has also slammed Jamaica and Cuba, where it caused "considerable damage" according to the Cuban president.

The storm, which has been downgraded to Category 2, has triggered hurricane warnings in parts of the Bahamas and Bermuda.