WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Hurricane Matthew that has been passing through the US state of Florida on Thursday and Friday, has weakened to a category two storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale, but it still threatens Georgia and South Carolina, National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in a news release.
"Maximum sustained winds are near 110 mph (175 km/h) with higher gusts. Although weakening its forecast during the next 48 hours, Matthew is expected to remain a hurricane until it begins to move away from the southeastern United States," NHC announced on Friday evening.
NHC added that Matthew continued its path toward Georgia, and is projected to reach the coast of South Carolina on Sunday.
Matthew arrived to the Florida coastline as a category four storm after it has impacted several countries in the Caribbean.
The hurricane has claimed more than 270 lives in Haiti in that country’s deadliest natural disaster since the 2010 earthquake.