South Carolina governor warns ‘this is a big, big storm’ as states brace for what could be the region’s most powerful hurricane

More than a million people living along the coastlines of Virginia and the Carolinas have been ordered to evacuate their homes on Tuesday, as parts of America’s mid-Atlantic coast brace for what could be the most powerful storm to ever hit the region.

Hurricane Florence upgraded to category four as it nears US east coast Read more

Hurricane Florence is expected to bring potentially catastrophic winds, flooding and storm surge. Forecasters predict it will make landfall late on Thursday.

Currently rated as a category 4 storm – the second most powerful on the national weather service’s (NWS) classification system – Florence would be the first storm in recorded history to make landfall at that magnitude so far north if it remains on its most likely track.

In its latest advisory on Tuesday morning, the US national hurricane center (NHC) said the storm is close to category 5 in strength, and had slightly increased in speed as it headed toward the east coast. It is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane ahead of its potential landfall.

“The bottom line is that there is high confidence that Florence will be a large and extremely dangerous hurricane, regardless of its exact intensity,” the hurricane center said.

The NHC, which is based in Miami, said the storm’s center was located about 410 miles (660 kilometers) south of Bermuda and about 975 miles (1570 kilometers) east-southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina.

Q&A Tell us: have you been affected by Hurricane Florence? Show Hide If you have been affected by Florence you can tell us about your experience using our encrypted form, or by sending your pictures and videos to the Guardian securely via WhatsApp by adding the contact +44(0)7867825056.

We will feature some of your contributions in our reporting. Though we’d like to hear from you, your safety and security is most important. When responding please make sure you put your safety and the safety of others first. Extreme weather events can be very unpredictable and carry very real risks

Florence “is particularly big, particularly strong and ... there’s nothing stopping it”, the South Carolina governor Henry McMaster said at a news conference on Monday. “And when it hits the Gulf Stream in warmer water, it’s going to [intensify] even more.”

McMaster ordered the evacuation of coastal areas to start at noon on Tuesday as Florence approaches. He said the storm surge could reach as high as 10ft (3m) and estimated that 1 million residents would be leaving the coast.

“We know this evacuation order I’m issuing is going to be inconvenient,” McMaster said of the decision. “But we’re willing to suffer some inconvenience.” He added that the disruption was worth the effort to save lives.

“This is a big, big hurricane,” McMaster said, noting that wind speeds are predicted to be more violent than in either of the the region’s two most damaging storms of the past 30 years.

Play Video 0:51 Flying through Hurricane Florence – video

Virginia’s governor ordered a mandatory evacuation for some residents of low-lying coastal areas beginning on Tuesday morning. State officials say 245,000 people live in the affected area, but officials warned the storm could affect the entire state.

McMaster declared a state of emergency on Saturday. The governors of Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland have done the same. The designation gives officials the power to order evacuations, establish shelters, prohibit travel and impose curfews.

“Take steps now,” said North Carolina governor Roy Cooper over the weekend. On Monday he said: “We do know that we’re in the bull’s-eye.”

On Monday afternoon, Donald Trump cancelled a scheduled appearance for Friday in Jackson, Mississippi, where he was due to campaign for Senate candidate Cindy Hyde-Smith. He sent a volley of tweets, calling on east coast residents to “be safe”.

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) My people just informed me that this is one of the worst storms to hit the East Coast in many years. Also, looking like a direct hit on North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Please be prepared, be careful and be SAFE!

The NWS is predicting “life-threatening” storm surge and inland freshwater flooding, with some models predicting upwards of 2ft of rainfall. With winds of up to 150mph forecast, Florence will likely fell tree limbs and trigger power outages.

Some forecasters are concerned that the storm appears likely to slow dramatically at about the time of landfall, like 2017’s Hurricane Harvey, which stalled out Houston, dropping huge amounts of rain over several days. That storm brought $125bn in damage last summer, mostly in Texas.

'We've been forgotten': Hurricane Harvey and the long path to recovery Read more

Florence stands a significant chance of joining 2017’s Harvey and Irma as just the third storm to make landfall on the US mainland at category 4 strength (or higher) since 2005. When storms of that magnitude hit the lower 48 states, they usually travel through the warmer waters of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico and rarely make landfall so far north up the eastern Atlantic coast. The last storm to hit the Carolinas as a category 4 was Hurricane Hugo nearly 30 years ago in 1989.

Florida governor Rick Scott, whose state experiences the most hurricane-force storms in the US, pledged resources, expertise and guidance to the three states in which emergencies have been declared.

Officials in North Carolina had already issued mandatory evacuation orders for coastal Dare county and Hatteras Island over the weekend. On Tuesday those orders were extended to Pamlico and Tyrell counties. The governor also waived certain restrictions for trucks and heavy vehicles to help farmers harvest crops and move livestock before the storm, officials said.

“North Carolina is no stranger to hurricanes,” Cooper said Monday, at least partially alluding to the devastating effects of Hurricane Matthew, which struck the Carolinas as a category 1 storm in October 2016 killing 34 in the US, after cutting a vicious path across the Caribbean, killing more than 1,000 in Haiti.

Off the state’s coast, large sea swells and dangerous rip currents were already apparent over the weekend, foreshadowing the storm’s arrival. Beachgoers have been warned to avoid the ocean, and ferries that service the state’s coast have been canceled.

In Virginia, home to the world’s largest sea base, the US navy has ordered all ships to sea in preparation for the storm, where they can more safely ride out the violent wind and waves.