Millions prepare for potentially catastrophic Hurricane Florence
Video report by ITV News Washington Correspondent Robert Moore
Millions of Americans are preparing for what could become one of the most catastrophic hurricanes to hit the Eastern Seaboard in decades, with mandatory evacuations already issued for parts of three East Coast states.
Hurricane Florence, carrying winds of up to 140 mph as a Category 4 storm, is expected to strengthen and possibly become a Category 5 storm on Tuesday.
It is then forecast to close in on North or South Carolina on Thursday, hitting a stretch of coastline that is vulnerable to rising sea levels due to climate change.
South Carolina’s governor ordered the state’s coastline to be evacuated starting at noon Tuesday, and predicted one million people would flee.
In Hatteras Island, North Carolina, a long line of traffic can be seen waiting to get away from the potential path of the hurricane.
"Please be prepared, be careful and be SAFE!" President Donald Trump said on Twitter on Monday evening.
Virginia’s governor ordered a mandatory evacuation for some residents of low-lying coastal areas, while some coastal counties in North Carolina have done the same.
The storm's first effects were already apparent on barrier islands as dangerous rip currents hit beaches and seawater flowed over the road.
For many people, the challenge could be finding a safe refuge.
Florence could bring torrential rains to the Appalachian mountains and as far away as West Virginia, causing flash floods, mudslides and other dangerous conditions.
The storm’s potential path also includes half a dozen nuclear power plants, pits holding coal-ash and other industrial waste, and numerous pig farms which store animal waste in massive open-air lagoons.
Airlines, including American and Southwest, have started letting passengers change travel plans which take them into the hurricane’s possible path.
National Hurricane Center director Ken Graham warned Florence was forecast to linger over the Carolinas once it reaches shore.
People living well inland should prepare to lose power and endure flooding and other hazards, he warned.
"It’s not just the coast," Graham said. "When you stall a system like this and it moves real slow, some of that rainfall can extend well away from the centre."
Its centre will move between Bermuda and the Bahamas on Tuesday and Wednesday and approach the coast of South Carolina or North Carolina on Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said.
Preparations for Florence were intensifying up and down the densely populated coast.
Since reliable record-keeping began more than 150 years ago, North Carolina has been hit by only one Category 4 hurricane: Hazel, with 130 mph winds, in 1954.
The car park has been full for three days at the Ace Hardware store in coastal Calabash, North Carolina, where manager Tom Roberts said he sold 150 gas cans in two hours Monday, along with generators, plywood, rope, manual can openers, sand bags and a plethora of other items.
"I’ve been doing this since 1983," Roberts said as he completed an order for another load of supplies. "This is the craziest one."
In announcing his evacuation order, South Carolina governor Henry McMaster said an estimated one million people would be fleeing the coast.
An evacuation order from Virginia governor Ralph Northam applies to about 245,000 people, including parts of the Hampton Roads area and Eastern Shore.
North Carolina governor Roy Cooper said his state was "in the bullseye" of the storm and urged people to "get ready now".