A Dangerous and Tropical Storm Florence Nears U.S.

Tropical Storm Florence upgraded to hurricane as it nears U.S.

Ensure you do the following during a severe storm:

Stay indoors and away from windows.
If outdoors, shelter away from drains, gutters, creeks and waterways.
Be prepared for power outages.
Floodwater is dangerous – never drive, walk or ride through floodwater.
Floodwater is toxic – never play or swim in floodwater.

The storm’s sustained winds reached 121 km/h, just over the threshold for a hurricane, as it made its way across the Atlantic, about 1,210 kilometers southeast of Bermuda, the National Hurricane Center said. It was moving west at 9 km/h.The Miami-based center said that it was still too early to predict the hurricane’s exact path but that a huge coastal area from South Carolina to the mid-Atlantic region should prepare for a major strike late in the week.

“All indications are that Florence will be an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane while it moves over the western Atlantic toward the southeastern United States,” the hurricane center said. A Category 4 storm packs winds of 209 km/h or more and has the potential for catastrophic damage.