One of the strongest tropical storms in history hits the US this weekend

Image of Hurricane Dorian. Source: Nationalgeographic.com

According to the announcement of the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hurricane Dorian is approaching the Bahamas and the east coast of Florida during the US Labor Day weekend and has strengthened to an extremely dangerous category 4.

With winds of up to 215 km/h, this is considered one of the strongest tropical storms to hit the United States.

Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis warned residents of the island nation about the danger of Hurricane Dorian, which could cause a lot of damage to people and property.

NHC forecasts that Hurricane Dorian, with heavy rain, strong winds and large waves, could see sea levels rise as high as 4.5 meters above high tide when it makes landfall in the Bahamas on August 31 and then Florida.

On August 30, US President Donald Trump canceled his visit to Poland due to Hurricane Dorian. He also declared a state of emergency in the state of Florida, requesting federal agencies to be ready to provide maximum support to the local area as the storm passes.

President Trump has directed the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate assistance to people in disaster areas.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in 67 counties and urged millions of residents to prepare for the storm. More than 2,000 rescue workers have been deployed to key locations and another 2,000 are on standby.

Along Florida’s East Coast, people have begun stocking up on food, water and fuel in anticipation of the storm. Long lines have formed at gas stations in South Florida. County governments in the eastern and central coastal regions have distributed sandbags.