Florida braces for Hurricane Dorian after storm batters Bahamas

Florida is bracing for the impact of Hurricane Dorian today as gusty winds and heavy rain start to lash the U.S. coast. 

After battering the Bahamas, Dorian is due to move ‘dangerously close’ to the Florida shore on Tuesday, bringing storm surges, 120mph winds and possibly tornadoes. 

Thousands have been ordered to flee their homes and more than 9,500 people have taken cover in shelters across the state with many shops and houses boarded up. 

Although Dorian has weakened, it remains a menacing Category 3 hurricane and could cause highly dangerous storm surges even if it does not make landfall on the U.S. coast.  

While it the storm is expected to stay offshore, experts have warned that ‘only a small deviation’ would be needed to bring it towards the mainland.    

Today Disney World announced it was closing early, shutting its doors at 3pm on Tuesday, amid fears that Orlando could come into Dorian’s path if it veers off course. 

First signs of a storm: Trees blow in the wind on Cocoa Beach in Florida, one woman stopping to take a picture last night, as the U.S. coast braces for the impact of Hurricane Dorian 

Taking cover: A woman shields her face from the wind, rain and blowing sand whipped up by Hurricane Dorian as she walks on Cocoa Beach in Florida on Monday 

The hurricane is seen in a satellite image with the state of Florida marked. The storm has stalled over the Bahamas but is set to move towards the U.S. coast later today 

The National Hurricane Center shared a photo mapping out Hurricane Dorian’s possible path, with the storm reaching Florida on Tuesday 

‘This storm at this magnitude could really cause massive destruction. Do not put your life in jeopardy by staying behind when you have a chance to get out,’ warned Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.  

Florida Senator Rick Scott wrote on Twitter that ‘a slight wobble west’ would bring the storm ‘on shore with devastating consequences.’ 

‘If you’re in an evacuation zone, get out NOW. We can rebuild your home. We can’t rebuild your life,’ he said. 

Dorian was due to move towards Florida last night but instead stalled over the Bahamas, lashing the islands in an ‘unprecedented’ 40-hour barrage of wind and rain.

The National Hurricane Center now predicts the ‘extremely dangerous’ storm will ‘move dangerously close to the Florida east coast late today through Wednesday evening’. 

Florida beaches have already begun to feel the effects with waves crashing against the shore while the winds whip up sand under gloomy skies. 

More than 1,300 flights have been cancelled already with another 1,000 set to be scrapped today, many involving Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami airports. 

Port Everglades, a seaport which is home to several major cruise lines, was also shut.  

Businesses are boarded up near Fort Pierce Jetty Park in Florida, with graffiti on one shutter saying: ‘Go away Dorian’ 

Gloomy skies: Trees blow in the wind at Los Olas Beach in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, last night with a lifeguard tower on the shore as the state braces for impact 

Kacy Carvajal holds her friend’s daughter, two-year-old Emily Castaneda, as they check in to an evacuation shelter at the Vero Beach High School Freshman Learning Center in Florida on Monday

Juna Beach residents Anneka, eight, left, and sister, Breanna, 10, right, along with their mother, Leah Hanza, center, get a close look at the waves crashing against the Juno Beach Pier as the hurricane crawls towards Florida

Today a hurricane watch was in effect for Florida’s East Coast from Deerfield Beach north to South Santee River in South Carolina. 

A storm surge watch was extended northward to South Santee River in South Carolina. Lake Okeechobee was under a tropical storm watch.     

Walt Disney World near Orlando has announced it will close early on Tuesday amid warnings that the hurricane could yet veer off course. 

‘We are closely monitoring the progress of the storm and are making operational adjustments as needed,’ the attraction’s website said.   

In southern Florida’s Port Saint Lucie – a low-income area where mobile home parks stood all-but emptied of their residents – Dan Peatle, 78, fled his retirement community to take shelter in a hotel.

‘It makes me sick. I don’t like it,’ he said.

‘I’ve been through seven or eight of them since I’ve been in Florida, since ’73. And, they’re all the same, you know. Tear everything up, put it back together. But, I chose to live here so I might as well live with it, you know.’   

Shop windows are seen boarded up in Deerfield Beach, Florida, with the storm set to move towards the U.S. mainland today

A lifeguard tower is seen on the shore under gloomy skies at Las Olas Beach in Fort Lauderdale yesterday, only two beachgoers visible in the water

A sign tells motorists that Port Everglades, where several major cruise lines are docked, is closed due to the hurricane

Waves whipped up by Hurricane Dorian crash over a swimmer on Cocoa Beach, where Dorian was once predicted to make landfall. It is now expected to swerve away from the coast 

Homes on the Intracoastal are seen with their hurricane shutters up as Hurricane Dorian approaches in Boca Raton

More than 9,500 people have taken cover in 121 shelters in Florida, according to the state’s Division of Emergency Management.

Among them is 30-year-old Stefanie Passieux, who took shelter along with her two children and mother.

‘I came yesterday, as soon as it opened. They said we were in a state of emergency so I came,’ she said. ‘My dad is staying with the cats, but we left. He never leaves. He doesn’t do shelters.’

By Tuesday morning the storm, initially a Category 5 hurricane, had been downgraded to a Category 3 but it is still causing 120mph winds and up to 30 inches of rain. 

Further up the coast, some 830,000 people were ordered to evacuate in South Carolina with all lanes of Interstate 26 out of Charleston reversed on Monday to allow motorists to head inland.

Georgia has also ordered mandatory evacuations on its Atlantic coast. 

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper warned his state that it could see heavy rain, winds and floods later in the week. 

His Virginia counterpart Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency yesterday although state officials are yet to order any evacuations.   

Beachegoers are seen on the shore under dark and gloomy skies at Las Olas Beach in Fort Lauderdale yesterday

People walk the shoreline of Juno Beach near the pier under high gust winds as Hurricane Dorian crawls toward Florida

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