US braces for Florence

Miami : The eastern United States braced yesterday for the impact of “major” hurricane Florence as it threatened catastrophic flooding in areas already soaked by heavy rain. The storm was 625 miles (1,005 kilometres) southeast of the British North Atlantic island territory of Bermuda at 0900 GMT yesterday, and was forecast “to become a major hurricane” yesterday morning, the National Hurricane Centre said. Florence “is expected to remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane through Thursday,” the NHC in Miami said.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s office described Florence as possibly the state’s “most significant hurricane event in decades,” and warned of “catastrophic inland flooding, high winds and possible widespread power outages.” It added: “The largest threat to life from hurricanes is not the high winds. Flooding is the deadliest result of these storms.” The US Navy ordered ships at its major base in Hampton Roads, Virginia, to put to sea, saying “the forecasted destructive winds and tidal surge are too great to keep the ships in port.” 

Heavy rain in the Washington area over the weekend had already led to flooding in historic Alexandria, Virginia, local media reported, and the National Weather Service issued a flood watch for part of the Potomac River. Florence was “rapidly strengthening,” with maximum sustained winds increased to 105 miles per hour, making it a Category 2 storm, the second-weakest on the five-level Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale.

“The centre of Florence will move over the southwestern Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda and the Bahamas Tuesday and Wednesday, and approach the southeastern coast of the United Sates on Thursday,” the NHC said. The storm was moving west-northwest at around nine miles per hour, and was forecast to drench a large swath of the US East Coast running from northern Florida to New Jersey. On its current track Florence is expected to slam the Carolinas and Virginia the hardest -- and all three states have issued emergency declarations to speed preparations.