Hurricane Dorian Now Category 4 Storm, Approaches Bahamas, Florida

Hurricane Dorian Now Category 4 Storm, Approaches Bahamas, Florida

By VOA News

August 30, 2019 10:17 PM

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Friday that Hurricane Dorian has strengthened into a Category 4 storm and called it "extremely dangerous.''

The storm is moving toward the Bahamas and the U.S. state of Florida.

The Bahamian government has issued a hurricane warning for the northwestern Bahamas, while U.S. President Donald Trump has declared a state of emergency for the state of Florida.

The National Hurricane Center said that because Dorian is moving slowly, it could produce prolonged rains, winds and storm surges, leading to life-threatening flash floods.

Dorian is moving with maximum sustained winds of 215 kilometers per hour.

Forecasters predict that Dorian could slam into southeastern Florida on Monday, however the latest models also predict a chance that the storm could turn northward and hug the eastern coast of the United States. They say Dorian's track is still highly uncertain.

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

The emergency declaration for Florida paves the way for the deployment of National Guard troops and the provision of more fuel.

Florida National Guard Major General James Eifert said 2,000 troops mobilized in the state Friday, with another 2,000 joining them Saturday.

U.S. President Donald Trump 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. The president owns several properties in Florida, including the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach and the Trump National Doral in Miami, which Trump has suggested as a possible venue for next year's Group of Seven summit.

No evacuation orders yet

Officials in Florida have not yet ordered any mass evacuations because the track of the storm is still unclear. Residents in Florida have been filling their gas tanks in case they need to leave their homes.

The auto and travel group AAA said Friday that there is plenty of gas for Floridians, but said the difficulty is in getting it to retailers quickly enough to keep up with the demand from drivers. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has ordered state troopers to escort tanker trucks carrying fuel to gas stations to help ensure it reaches retailers quickly and safely.

DeSantis has urged residents to stock up on at least a week's worth of food, water and medicine and be prepared to lose power for days after Hurricane Dorian makes landfall.

"I think there's a pretty high degree of certainty that this is going to be a major hurricane," DeSantis said.

Orlando International Airport said it plans to shutdown Monday because of the storm.

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, NASA began moving its launch platform for rockets to a giant hangar built to withstand strong winds.

Bahamas urges evacuations

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation said the Grand Bahama International Airport in Freeport will close Friday night and will not open again until Tuesday.

Officials in the Bahamas urged people to evacuate and seek shelter.

"Do not be foolish and try to brave out this hurricane," Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said at a news conference.

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