A Scot has revealed how he is stuck on the east coast of America with a powerful hurricane heading his way.
Greig Thomson is in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Dorian.
The weather system is the most powerful to hit the area since records began and is wreaking havoc across the Bahamas.
Experts said on Monday that Dorian’s windspeed had slowed from 200mph to 165mph and that it was heading "dangerously close" to the American mainland and that a slight deviation in the path would take it directly over Florida.
There is no official casualty figure but the Red Cross has claimed that at least 13,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed by the slow-moving hurricane in the Bahamas.
Greig, from Stirling, was due to begin a luxury cruise with his partner on Wednesday before Dorian struck.
Speaking from his hotel on Monday, he said: “We were told to stock up with water and food and await further instruction from the local authorities.
“They are deciding whether we should get evacuated or not. It’s pretty scary at the moment with everyone boarding up shops and making preparations. There’s also about two and a half thousand troops being drafted in to the area to help out.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. The strongest wind I’ve experienced is about 70mph in Stirling - this is something entirely different.”
And he added: “The hotel will make preparations to get us out of here if needed. They think the hurricane will turn later but we’ll still see some really strong winds and storm surges.
“If it doesn’t turn it will come right over the top of us which is a very scary thought.”
There was little information overnight from the affected Bahamas islands amid power cuts and limited internet access.
However, video and tweets posted by former government aide, Latrae Rahming, showed severe damage on the Abaco Islands, home to about 17,000 people, where landfall was first made with sustained winds close to 185mph.
Cars have been flipped over and roofs torn off buildings and petrol stations.
The US states of Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina have all declared states of emergency.
Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis, warned that Dorian could hit landfall somewhere along the Atlantic coast on Monday evening.
He said the state is likely to experience dangerous storm surges and some flooding and confirmed that some coastal communities had already been evacuated.
Buddy Dyer, the mayor of Orlando, declared a state of emergency for the city after forecasters said it was still within the “cone” of places where the storm’s eye may go.
Florida residents had collected over 187,000 sandbags by Sunday, which was 67,000 more than were handed out for
Hurricane Irma- the strongest ever hurricane in the Atlantic.
President Trump caused confusion at a press conference by saying Hurricane Dorian would hit Alabama. The gaffe prompted official forecasters to issue a statement reassuring residents the storm was too far east to affect them in any way.
