At least five people died when Hurricane Dorian pulled over the Bahamas with winds of 80 meters per second. The hurricane is the worst storm that hit the island in modern times - and now it is slowly moving toward the United States.
During Tuesday night, Swedish time, it is expected to hit Florida's east coast and then continue north.
Over one million inhabitants are evacuated along the coast. Orlando International Airport will close its operations on Tuesday. A total of 2,700 flights have been canceled at several airports, according to CNN. The Legoland theme park has closed and Disneyland plans to close earlier than usual on Tuesday. Pictures from the coastal cities show shops that have nailed their facades and bus loads of people being evacuated.
"A lot of winds and rain"Hurricane Dorian is classified as a Category 4 storm, the second highest class. Swedish Viktoria Riley lives in West Palm Beach. If the hurricane follows the expected route, she will escape the strongest winds. But even there, the inhabitants prepare for the worst.
- Although we do not live exactly where the storm eye should go, we have received a lot of winds and rain coming from the storm itself, she tells SVT News.
She continues:
- They say it will now rain nonstop for the next two, three days, says Viktoria Riley.
Viktoria Riley has lived in Florida since 2014 and two years ago she and her husband participated in Hurricane Irma. She says that they are well prepared and that in June they usually refill both water and gasoline tanks to be ready if a hurricane should come.
- You know that the hurricane season starts in June and that it will last until November. A hurricane can pop up at any time, she says.
She continues:
- If you need to evacuate, we have bags packed. Then you just have to take your backpack, jump into the car and go.