Hurricane Florence hits US East Coast

More than a million people were ordered Monday to evacuate the path of Hurricane Florence as the powerful Category 4 storm packing winds of 140 miles (220 kilometers) per hour bore down on the East Coast of the United States.

"This is one of the worst storms to hit the East Coast in many years," President Donald Trump warned on Twitter. "Please be prepared, be careful and be SAFE!"

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster ordered as many as one million residents of the state's eastern coast to leave their homes ahead of the storm's possible arrival on Thursday. Schools in 26 of the state's 46 counties were to close from Tuesday.

The governor of neighboring North Carolina ordered an evacuation of the Outer Banks, barrier islands that are a popular tourist destination, and parts of coastal Dare County, while a state of emergency was declared in Virginia.

On its current track, Florence is expected to slam the Carolinas and Virginia the hardest.

- AFP