Florida prepares as Hurricane Dorian approaches

Florida residents were stocking up on supplies and batting down their homes on Friday as storm Dorian approached the southeastern US. Experts from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) upped their estimate of Dorian's strength to the fourth category on a scale of one to five.

The NHC said Dorian is an "extremely dangerous major hurricane" that could cause "life-threatening flash floods." It also stated that Dorian is now packing top sustained winds of 140 miles (220 kilometers) per hour. The storm could reach Florida as early as Saturday evening local time. It is also expected to hit the northwestern Bahamas, potentially raising water 10 feet to 15 feet (3 meters to 4.5 meters) above normal levels.

'Do not be foolish'

Bahamas authorities issued evacuation orders for several islands.

"Do not be foolish and try to brave out this hurricane," Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said. "The price you may pay for not evacuating is your life."

Florida authorities were hoping to mobilize 4,000 National Guard troops by Saturday, with authorities declaring a state of emergency. Around 10 million people could be affected by Dorian in the US, but the exact path of the hurricane remains unclear.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said officials were holding off on evacuation orders until weather experts could provide a clearer projection of where the hurricane would cause the most damage.

"Sometimes if you evacuate too soon, you may evacuate into the path of the storm if it changes," he said.

NASA batters down the hatches

Disneyland in Orlando and US President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort are likely to be affected.

The US Coast Guard advised ocean-faring commercial vessels to plan their leave from southern Florida ports. At Florida's Cape Canaveral, NASA began moving its 380-foot mobile launch platform into the massive Vehicle Assembly Building, which was built to withstand winds of over 200 kilometers (124 miles) per hour.

Currently, Dorian boasts maximum sustained winds of some 215 kilometers (130 miles) per hour.

dj/sms (AP, AFP)

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