The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is trying to raise $6.9m (£5.5m) in emergency funds to help deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti.

It says this money will help provide medical aid, shelter, water and sanitation assistance to 50,000 people.

You can read more here, external.

Hurricane Matthew has moved further north and is travelling with maximum sustained winds of 120mph.

The "Western edge of Matthew's eye wall" is approaching Cape Canaveral, the National Hurricane Center says.

Image source, Google Maps

As Haiti picks up the pieces from Hurricane Matthew in coming weeks and months, the number of cholera cases is expected to surge, the Pan-American Health Organization and World Health Organization warn.

More than 28,500 cases have been reported this year already, and the impact of flooding on water sanitation after the hurricane could see a spike, they said.

Earlier this year the UN acknowledged it had played a role in the outbreak of cholera in Haiti in 2010 that has since killed nearly 10,000 people.

Scientific studies had shown that Nepalese UN troops were the source of the disease.

Here's an update of what the situation is looking like in Florida, where gusting winds and rains are hammering parts of the coast 

• More than 200,000 people are without power in the state and it is expected that a storm surge could reach up to 11ft (3.35m) in some places

• South Florida, including 4.4 million people in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, were spared overnight as Matthew moved north 
• If it makes landfall, it is expected to do so north of West Palm Beach and continue north towards the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina at the weekend, before heading back out into the Atlantic. Interstate highways have been restricted to one-way traffic to allow millions to evacuate
• More than 3,000 flights were cancelled on Thursday and Friday. Fort Lauderdale Airport has shut, and Orlando airport will do the same
• Amtrak trains between Miami and New York have been suspended
• Theme parks in Orlando have all closed, including Walt Disney World and Universal Studios, to the chagrin of some tourists

And here's a map showing the location of the eye of the storm at 03:00 EDT (07:00 GMT) according to co-ordinates from the National Hurricane Center.

Image source, Google Maps

If Hurricane Matthew makes landfall, Cape Canaveral could be in line for a direct hit, experts have warned.

"Billions of dollars of facilities and equipment are at risk at Kennedy Space Center and nearby bases, which have never before experienced a major hurricane,"  Jeff Masters of the Weather Underground website earlier wrote.

Reuters reports that some 116 employees are in the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Control Center, braced for a possible landfall.

"We've had some close calls, but as far as I know it's the first time we've had the threat of a direct hit," a NASA spokesman said.

A retired NASA shuttle pad that SpaceX plans to use to launch its Falcon 9 rockets is located very close to the Atlantic Ocean, CBS News reports. 

Image source, AFP

We've put together a picture gallery showing the impact of Hurricane Matthew on Haiti, where more than 300 people have died. Click the link below to have a look.

In pictures: Hurricane Matthew causes destruction in Haiti

Image source, AFP

The hurricane's maximum sustained winds have decreased to around 120mph (195km/h), the National Hurricane Center says in its latest update.

It is now a Category 3 hurricane, and though it will probably weaken further over the next 48 hours, it will still be a "powerful storm" if or when it makes landfall on the Florida coast.

In case you missed it earlier, here is another video of pilots from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration flying into the eye of Hurricane Matthew to gather data.

Good morning. Hurricane Matthew is yet to make landfall in the United States. It is 50 miles (80km) off the Florida coast but moving north-west at 13mph.

The Category Four storm has left a trail of destruction in Haiti - where more than 300 people have been killed - and pounded parts of the Bahamas.

• Most of the deaths in Haiti were in towns and fishing villages around the southern coast, with many killed by falling trees, flying debris and swollen rivers
• The death toll is expect to rise further as rescuers reach the remotest parts of the south-west peninsula
• Some two million people living on the south-eastern US coast have been urged to leave their homes
• A state of emergency has been declared in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia
• The latest update (01:00 EDT; 05:00 GMT) from the National Hurricane Center puts Matthew 50 miles (80km) east-south-east of Vero Beach, Florida. The NHC says "sustained tropical-storm-force winds" are occurring along Florida's east coast

• The US National Weather Service says Matthew could be the most powerful hurricane to hit north-east Florida in more than a century
• Florida governor Rick Scott has warned that millions of people could be left without power

You can read our main story here:

Hundreds dead in Haiti storm disaster

Richard Hasen, writing in Slate, certainly thinks so. He predicts the hurricane could have "devastating" consequences on the outcome of the election and could lead to a legal challenge in the Supreme Court.

"Some Floridians who have already registered and wish to cast an early ballot may find that they cannot get home to vote or get an absentee ballot, or perhaps that their ballot has washed away in the storm. Requests to deal with these problems could put a great burden on Florida election administrators, particularly if the storm displaces people for a period that lasts through Election Day." 

Florida is the biggest battleground state and polls suggest it's finely balanced.  

Read Richard's piece in full , external

Image source, AFP

It's 50 miles (80 km) away from Vero Beach, Florida, but edging closer, moving at a speed of 13 mph.

Haiti, one of the world's poorest countries, continues to assess the impact of Hurricane Matthew.

Reuters is now reporting a death toll of 339 people.

"I've been on my feet for two days without sleep," Dominique Osny, a resident of Sous-Roche district in the coastal Les Cayes city, told the AFP news agency as he gathered corrugated iron sheets from a blown-off roof.

"Everyone is a victim here, houses have been washed away, we lost all the roofing. I lost everything, right up to my birth certificate."  

Image source, AP

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Nearly 2 million people along the eastern seaboard have been under orders to evacuate.

Officials on one South Carolina island are distributing this ominous waiver to residents refusing to flee.

Those that refuse are asked to list their next of kin.

Florida officials in Nassau County have tweeted their latest forecast

It's unclear when or if Hurricane Matthew will strike the US mainland, but either way gale force winds and heavy flooding are expected in southern US states.

A storm surge could raise sea levels in Florida by 11 feet (about three metres).

The National Hurricane Center's latest advisory states: "Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles (95 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185 miles (295 km)."  

Image source, National Hurricane Center