Hurricane Florence is expected to reach the east coast of the United States this week with winds reaching 195 km / h, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) announced Monday.
irst evacuations were ordered Monday on the east coast of the United States, which accelerated its preparations for hurricane Florence, raised to category 4 out of 5 existing. With winds already reaching 195 km / h, it should hit the continent this week. After North Carolina and South Carolina, the state of Virginia in turn declared a state of emergency over the weekend to prepare for the possible consequences of an impact.
Authorities in North Carolina have ordered first evacuations for residents of Hatteras Island, and starting Tuesday for other areas of the Outer Banks coastal tourist region. According to the latest National Hurricane Center (NHC) bulletin, at 16:00 GMT Monday, Florence had moved to category 4 on the five-man Saffir-Simpson scale. Traveling at a speed of 20 km / h heading northwest, he should spend Tuesday and Wednesday between the Bahamas and Bermuda, before heading to the US coast, he could hit Thursday.
“It is expected that Florence will further strengthen and that it is until Thursday a major hurricane extremely dangerous,” said the NHC, calling on the US states of the southeastern and central Atlantic Coastline to closely monitor its trajectory . The vast state of Virginia has invited its people to prepare for what could be the most important hurricane to hit it “for decades”.
“Although it is too early to know the exact trajectory of Hurricane Florence, most weather forecasts point to significant potential impacts for Virginia, in the form of storm surges, catastrophic lands, high winds and possible large-scale power outages, “Virginia Governor Ralph Northam warned Sunday in a statement.
More than the strong winds, local authorities fear the floods that could be caused by rainfall – up to 50 cm in places – brought by the hurricane.
NEW: Florence is now a category 4 hurricane. Data from a NOAA Hurricane Hunter indicate that Florence has continued to rapidly strengthen and has maximum sustained winds near 130 mph (195 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 946 mb (27.93 inches) https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/wfLt6fJPl2
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 10, 2018