Iran Press- Hurricane Florence is expected to bring potentially catastrophic winds, flooding and storm surge. Forecasters predict it will make landfall late on Thursday.
Currently rated as a category 4 storm – the second most powerful on the national weather service’s (NWS) classification system – Florence would be the first storm of that magnitude in recorded history to strike the eastern coastline so far north if it remains on its most likely track, the Guardian newspaper reported.
In its latest advisory on Tuesday morning, the US national hurricane center (NHC) said the storm is close to Category 5 in strength, and had slightly increased in speed as it heads toward the east coast. It is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane ahead of its potential landfall.
The hurricane center issued a statement saying: “The bottom line is that there is high confidence that Florence will be a large and extremely dangerous hurricane, regardless of its exact intensity,” .
South Carolina governor Henry McMaster ordered the evacuation of coastal areas to start at noon on Tuesday as Hurricane Florence approaches. He said the storm surge could reach as high as 3 meters, and estimated that 1 million residents would be leaving the coast.
“We know this evacuation order I’m issuing is going to be inconvenient,” McMaster said of the decision. “But we’re willing to suffer some inconvenience.” He added that the disruption was worth the effort to save lives.
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