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30th Aug 2019

‘Extremely dangerous’ Hurricane Dorian tracks towards Florida and the Bahamas

Alan Loughnane

Florida hurricane

Residents have been preparing for it to hit over the weekend.

A state of emergency has been extended to the entire state of Florida before the arrival of Hurricane Dorian, which is forecast to strengthen into a highly dangerous Category 4 storm during the weekend before hitting the Atlantic coast.

Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis made the decision as the state prepares for the approaching hurricane by cancelling some commercial flights and handing out sand bags to residents.

The state has 819,000 gallons of water and 1.8 million meals ready for distribution, the governor said in a news conference.

Residents in the state have been urged to have seven days of food and medicine available, which prompted a clear out of shelves in stores across the state.

The governor has also requested a pre-landfall disaster declaration from President Trump ahead of Hurricane Dorian.

“With Hurricane Dorian strengthening, I have sent a letter to President Donald Trump requesting that he declare a pre-landfall disaster for all of Florida’s 67 counties. The trajectory of this storm remains uncertain, and this declaration will provide us with the necessary resources to ensure the state is fully prepared,” DeSantis said.

“I am confident the President will grant my request and show his full support for Florida,” he added.

As Dorian, the second hurricane of the Atlantic season, tracks north of the Bahamas later this week, it is expected to reach Category 4 hurricane strength before approaching the southeastern United States coast.

“Dorian is expected to become a major hurricane on Friday and remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through the weekend,” said the US National Hurricane Center in its latest public advisory.

Hurricane Dorian is expected to make landfall in Florida as a category 4 storm on Monday.

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