Hurricane Dorian, now classed as category 5, swooped down on Sunday, September 1 on the Bahamas, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) evoking "catastrophic conditions" in the north-west of the archipelago.

By midday, the eye of the hurricane was about thirty kilometers from the Abacos Islands, threatened by torrential rains and devastating winds.

"Dorian becomes the most violent hurricane in modern history in northwestern Bahamas," said NHC. This is "an extremely dangerous situation," said the body, adding that the winds reached 295 km / h.

Hubert Minnis, Prime Minister of this archipelago of some 700 islets located between Florida, Cuba and Haiti, called on the population to take shelter as quickly as possible.

"People are still traumatized by Hurricane Matthew (in 2016) but it's even worse," Yasmin Rigby, who lives in Freeport, Grand Bahama, told AFP.

From the White House, US President Donald Trump has called for the utmost vigilance against this hurricane "very very powerful".

"Very difficult to predict"

After the Bahamas, the hurricane is expected to move closer to the east coast of Florida Monday night and Tuesday, but it is difficult to predict how strongly it will hit the "Sunshine State".

"A lot of movement, very difficult to predict," summed up Donald Trump Saturday in a tweet.

"Initially, he had to hit Florida directly," he said Sunday morning when he arrived at the White House back from Camp David. "It now looks like it's going to go back to South Carolina and North Carolina, and Georgia and Alabama will also be affected."

"But his race could still change," warned the White House tenant who canceled his trip to Poland this weekend.

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency in his state. "The strength and unpredictability of the storm compels us to prepare for all scenarios," he said.

The state of emergency had already been declared in Florida and in a dozen counties in the state of Georgia. This measure makes it possible to better mobilize the public services of the State and to resort if necessary to the federal aid.

According to a relief coordinator, 12,000 soldiers are currently in Florida pending the arrival of Dorian.

Orlando Airport, where tourists want to visit Disney World, is scheduled to close at 0600 GMT Monday morning.

With AFP