Hurricane Florence more powerful than expected - more than a million on the US East Coast to be evacuated

Hurricane Florence is coming closer to the United States east coast and is dramatically increasing in strength. Three states have declared emergency and now evacuation begins of over one million people.



The United States National Hurricane Center warns that Hurricane Florence will be "extremely dangerous" and even "deadly".



It has now reached such a strength that it is currently rated as a Category 4 Hurricane, which means it is in a category of wind force of at least 60 meters per second.



Should it hit our country in the current state of strength, the assessment is , according to Saffir-Simpson's Orca, that it would cause "catastrophic damage".



Hurricane Florence is expected to reach the United States East Coast on Thursday, with severe rain and flooding as a result. According to several hurricane experts, it is likely that it will increase further in strength on Tuesday, reports the news agency AP.

Florence may reach wind speeds of more than 70 meters per second, experts fear.



"Florence is likely to be a major and extremely dangerous hurricane, regardless of the intensity," said the US National Energy Agency (NHC) in a statement, reports CNN.

In the states of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, a state of emergency  have been announced and in North Carolina there are many residents who have begun to stockpile food, clothes and fuel.



In many areas,  evacuation of residents has begun. In South Carolina, the governor has ordered evacuation for all residents living along the coastline of the state, which is about one million people, reports AP.

 

Virginia, the governor has announced a mandatory evacuation for those living in the coastal area.



The occurrence of hurricanes is very common this year in the United States. During Monday, the so-called climatological peak reached this year's hurricane season.



Two more hurricanes threaten the American east coast at the moment:

- Hurricane Isaac is expected to reach the Small Antilles islands, which is part of the Caribbean, during night to Thursday.

- Hurricane Helene is currently also over the Atlantic, but Helen is expected to get weaker as it moves north before  the weekend.