At least 21 killed as a result of Hurricane Irene

 NEW YORK: Emergency officials said at least 21 people across the United States have died as a result of Hurricane Irene: six in North Carolina; four each in Virginia and Pennsylvania; two in New York; and one each in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey and Florida. 

Authorities are trying to determine whether an additional death reported in New York is connected to the storm.

The youngest fatalities were a boy killed by a falling tree in his apartment in Newport News, a city on a coastal peninsula in Virginia, and a girl who died in North Carolina.

North Carolina emergency management spokesman Brad Deen said one of the six victims in his state was a man who had a heart attack on Friday while nailing plywood over his windows in preparation for the hurricane.

Two people were also killed in the state in separate driving accidents. Another North Carolina fatality was a man struck by a falling tree limb while outside feeding his animals.

Ruth Miller, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, told that four fatalities had so far been confirmed in her state.

In New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie initially said two people had been killed -- a woman trapped in her car by rising floodwaters and a firefighter who succumbed to his injuries during a rescue attempt.

But only the woman's death was confirmed -- the firefighter was still alive in a critical condition in hospital and Christie had spoken out of turn after being given inaccurate information by his staff.

One man was killed by a storm-related electrical fire in Connecticut, while another storm-related death was a 55-year-old surfer who took to his board in treacherously high waves off the Florida coast on Friday.

Irene barreled up the east coast Sunday into the densely populated northeastern states of Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

In Vermont, Governor Peter Shumlin told CNN that a woman was feared dead after being swept into a rushing river, but a spokesman for the state's Emergency Management Agency, Mark Bosma, said her death was not confirmed.

Millions of people are without power and officials warned that flood damage from Irene's heavy rains may be felt for days.

Irene earlier left at least five people dead in the Caribbean, including one in the US territory of Puerto Rico.