Hurricane Dorian strengthens again Thursday, August 29, in the Caribbean, after passing north of Puerto Rico. Donald Trump, who was due to travel to Poland, canceled his trip to stay in the United States because the storm could hit Florida's coast on Monday, when a state of emergency was declared.

Dorian, which was strengthening in the Caribbean after passing north of Puerto Rico, became in the night of Thursday to Friday a category two hurricane on a scale of five, with winds of up to 165 km / h, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Threats to human lives

NHC spoke of an "increased likelihood" of threats to human lives over the weekend or early next week, as the hurricane hit Florida's shores.

Georgia, in turn, declared a state of emergency on Thursday for part of the border state of Florida. The governor, Brian Kemp, warned that the storm had the "potential to produce catastrophic effects for the inhabitants" of the coastal region of the southeastern United States.

The American president, who owns several properties in Florida, including his luxurious residence in Mar-a-Lago, was expected Sunday in Warsaw to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Second World War.

A hurricane "major"

"In order to allow all federal government resources to focus on the coming storm, I decided to send our vice president, Mike Pence, to Poland for me this weekend," he said. Donald Trump said.

The Republican leader personally appealed to his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda to "apologize" for having to cancel his visit to Warsaw and promise that he would go there "in the coming months," said the chief of staff of the Polish president, Krzysztof Szczerskiun, quoted by the PAP agency.

According to the NHC bulletin at 0300 GMT Friday, Dorian's eye was 470 kilometers east of the Bahamas and was moving north-west at a speed of 19 km / h.

NHC said it needs to get stronger and could become a "major" hurricane (category 3 or higher, with winds of at least 178 km / h) later on Friday. Authorities expect it to remain a hurricane "extremely dangerous during the weekend".

According to NHC forecasts, Dorian is expected to dump rainfall on portions of the southeast coast of the United States to 12 to 25 centimeters.

"Do not wait before it's too late!"

"All Florida residents should have prepared a plan - do not wait until it's too late!" Warned Ron DeSantis, the state's governor. "You should have enough food, water and medicine to last seven days," he said during a press conference.

As a result, Miami residents in particular began to flock to supermarkets and stalls to empty.

The Rolling Stones, which were to make the Miami public dance Saturday night, have advanced their concert Friday, because of poor weather forecast. Mick Jagger and his band had last month had to move a concert date to New Orleans because of Storm Barry.

Controversy

With Monday being a holiday due to Labor Day, the extended weekend that comes to an end of summer is traditionally an opportunity for Americans to travel.

Ocean Drive, Miami Beach's popular tourist artery, was unusually quiet on Thursday and some restaurant tables did not find takers.

"Be prepared and please, follow the instructions of the State (of Florida, Ed) and the federal government, it will be a very big hurricane, perhaps one of the biggest," Donald Trump had tweeted Thursday morning .

Puerto Rico was blowing for its part, the governor of this US territory saying that the threat was "already passed". But the political quarrel is not over. "Now that Dorian is heading to the East Coast, let's hope that Donald Trump puts aside his prejudices and racism and makes sure the federal response is effective," tweeted the mayor of the capital, San Juan, who severely criticized the response made in 2017 to Hurricane Maria by the Trump administration.

With AFP