US states call for emergency: Hurricane "Dorian" upgraded to second highest category

Hurricane Dorian is relentlessly moving towards the southeastern coast of the US and has continued to gain strength. He has now been upgraded to the second highest category, Hurricane Level 4 on the five-point scale. This was announced by the National Hurricane Center. The "extremely dangerous" hurricane is likely to hit the state of Florida on Monday or Tuesday.

If "Dorian" lands in this strength of land, that would be the fiercest storm for the east coast of Florida for more than two decades.

President Donald Trump said Friday at the White House that the exact route of the hurricane was still unpredictable, so the authorities would probably only decide on Sunday about possible evacuations. Only a few hours later, the Brevard County district on the east coast of Florida ordered its first forced evacuations: residents of offshore islands, potential floodplains, and less stable dwellings must move to safety no later than Sunday mornings.

It could be a "record hurricane," Trump warned. "It could be one of the biggest ones so far, so far, I have to admit, it does not look good," said the president. Trump flew to Camp David on Friday night, the country home of US presidents. He would be back on Sunday afternoon to coordinate the authorities' efforts before the storm arrived, Trump said.

Georgia also called for a state of emergency in the US state of Florida. Politicians called on residents to stock up on sufficient supplies. Television images from Florida showed people who stocked up in supermarkets with drinking water and stale food supplies for many days. At petrol stations partly long lines formed.

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The center of the storm "Dorian" slowly moved towards the northern Bahamas. The storm reached wind speeds of around 220 kilometers per hour during the night of Saturday.

Trump had expressed his concern on Thursday that the hurricane could be just as consequential as Hurricane "Andrew" - or worse. When "Andrew" hit Florida's east coast in 1992 as a Category Five storm, scores of people lost their lives. Damage in various states at that time amounted to approximately 43 billion US dollar.

The storm warning hits the US on an extended weekend - Monday is a holiday there. Some airlines let passengers rebook flights for free, reported US media.