Hurricane Florence - LIVE: More than a million evacuated from projected path of storm amid warning of 'life-threatening' flooding
Hurricane Florence, currently a Category 4 storm, is bearing down on the US eastern seaboard forcing authorities to issue mandatory evacuation orders amid fears of “life-threatening” floods and storm surges up to 12ft high.
Trackers fear Florence’s 130mph winds may strengthen further to Category 5 before it hits, as the Carolinas and Virginia brace for predicted landfall between Thursday and Friday. Some 1 million people have been told to evacuate from South Carolina's entire coastline.
The storm is the strongest of several weather systems the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) is monitoring as hurricane season reaches its peak.
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Even though Hurricane Florence is still almost 1,000 miles away from the coast, tides are already running over a foot above normal in parts of North Carolina as the ocean begins to swell in advance of the storm.
This is even leading to some coastal flooding in extremely low-lying areas.
Florence could hit the Carolinas harder than any hurricane since Hazel packed 130 mph (209 kph) winds in 1954. That Category 4 storm destroyed 15,000 buildings and killed 19 people in North Carolina. In the six decades since then, many thousands of people have moved to the coast.
The very centre of hurricane may be Camp Lejeune, the sprawling Marine Corps training base near Jacksonville, North Carolina. Tuesday's 7-day rainfall forecast showed 20 inches or more falling there, part of a wide swath of rainfall that could total ten inches or more over much of Virginia and drench the nation's capital. Some isolated areas could get 30 inches, forecasters said.
Retailers in North Carolina have been warned not to hike prices on key supplies ahead of Hurricane Florence's impact.
Josh Stein, the state's attorney general, warned companies and shopkeepers that a law against "price-gouging" had been brought into effect by the governor's declaration of a state of emergency on Friday.
“My office is here to protect North Carolinians from scams and frauds,” he said in a statement.
“That is true all the time, but especially during severe weather. It is against the law to charge an excessive price during a state of emergency.
“If you see a business taking advantage of this storm, either before or after it hits, please let my office know so we can hold them accountable.”
It came as images from neighbouring South Carolina showed supermarket shelves barren after shoppers rushed to stock up on essentials like bottled water.
Mandatory evacuations ordered as millions of Americans brace for what could become one of the most catastrophic hurricanes to hit the Eastern Seaboard in decades
Authorities in South Carolina have urged motorists to ignore their phone or GPS map systems and follow hurricane evacuation route signs instead.
State troopers and other agencies including the Department of Public Safety are beginning the process of reversing traffic flow on major interstate highways to provide a way out of areas in the path of Hurricane Florence.
The lane reversal on I-26 will take place from noon local time, the department said.
About 1 million people have been told they must leave the coastal parts of the state as the Category 4 storm bears down.
Heavy rainfall from Hurricane Florence may extend "hundreds of miles" inland once the storm smashes into the east coast and slows down, the NHC has said.
On the far side of the US, Hawaii braces against tropical storm Olivia. Flash floods are expected just weeks after the islands were lashed by Hurricane Lane.
The National Hurricane Centre has just issued a fresh advisory notice for Hurricane Florence.
It says:
A storm surge watch has been issued for the east coast stretching from Edisto Beach, South Carolina, all the way north to the North Carolina border with Virginia
A hurricane watch has been issued for the same stretch of coastline
"Interests elsewhere in the southeastern and mid-Atlantic states should monitor the progress of Florence"
Maximum sustained winds remain at about 140mph and are expected to strengthen. Florence is expected to remain "extremely dangerous" up to Thursday night
"A west-northwestward to north-westward motion with a slight increase in forward speed are expected during the next couple of days"
Landfall expected between Thursday and Friday after the storm moves between Bermuda and the Bahamas
The storm surges - a rise in sea level prompted by atmospheric pressure changes - caused by Florence in the next 48 hours are expected to be "life-threatening", the NHC said.
In places the rises could be up to 12ft (4m) high "if peak surge occurs at the time of high tide".
Hurricane Florence is a "beast" of a storm, according to an American scientific pilot who has flown through it a number of times on monitoring missions.
Florence is "on par with" the destructive hurricanes Irma and Maria that caused widespread damage last year, and getting "stronger and stronger by the minute", said Justin Kibbey of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
He added in an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper: "Our first flight Saturday, Florence was just under hurricane strength, and then Sunday it was just over hurricane strength, and today [Monday] it was a Category 4 storm.
"It's what they call rapid intensification, so the storm has really got its act together and is just a heck of a storm out there."
Nasa has released a stunning satellite image of the three hurricanes currently swirling over the Atlantic.
Florence, Isaac and Helene can be seen clearly in the image acquired by the agency's Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite aboard the Suomi satellite.
The photo shows Florida in the top left, with Cuba largely obscured by cloud and the northern part of Latin America including Brazil visible in the lower left. Spain and the Sahara desert can be seen on the right.
A handout photo made available by Nasa on 11 September, 2018 (EPA)
In this 15 October, 1954 file photo, high tides, whipped in by Hurricane Hazel, shatter boats and buildings in Swansboro, North Carolina, as the storm lashes the Atlantic seaboard. The last time the midsection of the East Coast stared down a hurricane like Florence, Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House and Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio were newlyweds. Florence could inflict the hardest hurricane punch the Carolinas have seen in more than 60 years, with rain and wind of more than 140mph (AP)
The National Hurricane Centre (NHS) has warned Florence will drop "staggering" amounts of rain.
NHC director Ken Graham warned the deluge may extend hundreds of miles inland and cause flash flooding across the mid-Atlantic region.
Forecasts expect 10 to 15 inches (25 to 38 cm) of rain in the hardest-hit areas, possibly more if the storm stalls over land, as expected, Mr Graham said.
Via the Associated Press news agency, a few details about what may be at stake when Florence strikes:
The storm's potential path includes half a dozen nuclear power plants, pits holding coal-ash and other industrial waste, and numerous hog farms that store animal waste in massive open-air lagoons.
Florence has sustained winds of over 130 mph and before it dies the storm may stall over the Carolinas, leading to “exceptionally heavy” and sustained rains, experts said.
The storm’s first effects were already apparent on barrier islands as dangerous rip currents hit beaches and seawater flowed over a state highway.
“The Storms in the Atlantic are very dangerous,” Donald Trump tweeted Monday. “We encourage anyone in the path of these storms to prepare themselves and to heed the warnings of State and Local officials. The Federal Government is closely monitoring and ready to assist. We are with you!”
State governors said they would open shelters for displaced residents.
Behind Florence in the Atlantic are at least two other storm systems, Hurricane Isaac and Hurricane Helene. In the Pacific, the state of Hawaii is expecting to be hit by its second hurricane of the season if Hurricane Olivia makes its way to the islands as predicted. Isaac has weakened in recent hours, the NHC said.
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