Miami — The eastern US braced on Monday for the impact of "major" hurricane Florence as it threatened catastrophic flooding in areas already soaked by rain. The storm was 1,000km southeast of the British island territory of Bermuda early on Monday and was forecast "to become a major hurricane" just hours later, the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said. Florence "is expected to remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane through Thursday", the centre in Miami said. Virginia governor Ralph Northam’s office described Florence as possibly the state’s "most significant hurricane event in decades", and warned of "catastrophic inland flooding, high winds and possible widespread power outages".
It added: "The largest threat to life from hurricanes is not the high winds. Flooding is the deadliest result of these storms." The US Navy ordered ships at its major base in Hampton Roads, Virginia, to put to sea, saying "the forecast destructive winds and tidal surge are too great to keep t...
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