South Carolina on Monday, September 10, ordered an estimated 1 million people to evacuate its coast as the state and neighboring North Carolina brace for a hit from Hurricane Florence, the most powerful storm to take aim at the US mainland this year.
The storm had winds of 130 miles per hour (209 kph) and was due to gain strength before making landfall, which the US National Hurricane Center said was likely to occur early Thursday (September 13) in the Carolinas, bringing heavy rain that could cause severe flooding through the region.
Satellite imagery captured by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) showed rows of clouds swirling offshore as the hurricane continued on its path.
In North Carolina, officials already had ordered some 250,000 residents and…