Hurricane Dorian Getting Stronger, Florida Declares State of Emergency

Hurricane Dorian Getting Stronger, Florida Declares State of Emergency

By VOA News

August 29, 2019 07:18 PM

Labor Day will be no holiday for Florida if Hurricane Dorian follows its projected path.

The National Hurricane Center predicts Dorian will build into an "extremely dangerous" storm as it sucks up the warm Atlantic waters over the next three days.

The storm could slam into southeastern Florida early Monday as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of at least 209 kilometers per hour (130 mph).

Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for the entire state. U.S. President Donald Trump has canceled a planned trip to Poland to "ensure that all resources of the federal government are focused on the arriving storm ... it's something very important for me to be here," he said Thursday.

Residents along Florida's Atlantic Coast have been told to stand by for possible evacuation. They are filling their gas tanks and stocking up on food, water, and emergency supplies.

Category 4 storms are capable of what experts describe as catastrophic damage - destroying homes and stores, ripping up roads, and knocking down trees and power lines.

As of late Thursday, Dorian was a Category 1 hurricane, centered about 535 kilometers (332 miles) east of the Bahamas with top winds of 140 kilometers per hour (87 mph).

Forecasters expect Dorian to move over parts of the northwest Bahamas on Sunday.

Dorian largely spared Puerto Rico and the U.S and British Virgin Islands, causing some floods and power outages but no major damage.