More than 1.5 million ordered to evacuate as Florence barrels down on Carolina coast

Over 1.5 million people are under evacuation orders ahead of Hurricane Florence’s expected landfall near the Carolinas.

The Category 4 storm is expected to grow stronger before it hits southeastern North Carolina. It is expected to reach land on Thursday.

The hurricane currently brings winds of up to 140 miles per hour and is expected to be the strongest storm the Carolinas have seen in nearly 30 years, according to Reuters.

{mosads}Governors have already taken precautions. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster ordered all residents along the coastline to begin evacuating at noon Tuesday and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and Virginia Governor Ralph Northam have ordered evacuations for residents in low-lying areas near the coast.

President Trump ordered a state of emergency in South Carolina and North Carolina Monday evening and said that federal assistance will be made available to bolster state and local responses to the storm.

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!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 10, 2018

The governors of Virginia and Maryland also declared states of emergency in their states.

Some fear that the storm will move slowly, impacting potentially less prepared inland areas.

“This is going to produce heavy rainfall, and it may not move very fast. The threat will be inland, so I’m afraid, based on my experience at FEMA, that the public probably is not as prepared as everybody would like,” Craig Fugate, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, told the Associated Press. 

Trump will meet Tuesday afternoon with the heads of FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security to review federal preparations for the storm.