- Title: Floridians stock up as Hurricane Dorian strengthens
- Date: 31st August 2019
- Summary: TITUSVILLE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 30, 2019) (REUTERS) STORE WITH WINDOWS ALL BOARDED UP AHEAD OF HURRICANE DORIAN PEOPLE WALKING IN AND OUT OF BOARDED UP SHOP DOORWAY OF BOARDED UP SHOP PEOPLE WALKING OUT OF BOARDED UP SHOP FLORIDA COUPLE FILLING UP CAR AND CONTAINERS WITH GASOLINE AHEAD OF HURRICANE DORIAN GASOLINE NOZZLE IN CONTAINER AS IT GETS FILLED UP WITH GASOLINE FOR THEIR GENERATOR GASOLINE PUMP AS THEY FILL UP CONTAINER FLORIDA RESIDENTS LOOKING AT PUMP AS THEY FILL UP CONTAINER VARIOUS OF COUPLE FILLING UP CONTAINERS WITH GASOLINE (SOUNDBITE) (English) BARBARA WALKER, 61-YEAR-OLD HOUSEWIFE, SAYING: "I guess we're as ready as we'll be. We got a generator, and our gas and that's all we need." JOURNALIST OFF-CAMERA ASKING: "Are you prepared for the weather with food?" WALKER SAYING: "We got food and stuff. We bought everything so we're ready." VARIOUS OF MAN FILLING UP CAR WITH GASOLINE WIDE OF LARGE GAS STATION WITH CARS AND PEOPLE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ALISHA BRACKEN, 28-YEAR-OLD TRAINER, SAYING: "How am I prepared? Well all our windows are boarded up. We have water, water for the dogs, food for the kids. It's pretty chaotic out there. I'm glad I prepared last weekend." JOURNALIST OFF-CAMERA SAYING: "Dorian is very very strong." BRACKEN SAYING: "They said that about a couple of other hurricanes and I'm not really too worried. It's probably going to weaken so I'm not stressing too much but a little, a little worried." JOURNALIST SAYS: "It's a Category 4." BRACKEN SAYING: "I know but they normally say that and they ended up going down to a Cat 2, Cat 1 and so. Kinda stressed, not stressed you know, in between, mixed emotions but not evacuating." HIGHWAY SIGN READING 'NORTH 405 DOWNTOWN TITUSVILLE' 'SOUTH 405 KENNEDY SPACE CENTER' CARS DRIVING DOWN ROAD WITH SIGN READING 'TITUSVILLE' IN REAR
- Embargoed: 14th September 2019 01:30
- Keywords: Hurricane Dorian hurricane preps Florida storm preps
- Location: TITUSVILLE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES
- City: TITUSVILLE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Wind/Hurricane/Typhoons/Tornadoes
- Reuters ID: LVA001AUJS0G7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Residents of Florida on Friday (August 30) were boarding up windows and stocking up on food, water and gas as Hurricane Dorian gained strength and slowly churned toward the U.S. mainland.
The storm has alarmed forecasters who worry parts of Florida will be walloped by strong winds, a storm surge and heavy rain for an extended period when it makes landfall early next week.
The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said Dorian was expected to continue strengthening and remain an "extremely dangerous major hurricane" as it moves northwest near the Bahamas and approaches the Florida peninsula.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis urged residents to have at least a week's worth of food, water and medicine, saying that they should be prepared for a "multiday event." Florida is under a declaration of emergency.
In the central Florida town of Titusville, area resident Barbara Walker and her husband filled up containers of gasoline for their generator, just in case they lose power during the hurricane.
"I guess we're as ready as we'll be. We got a generator, and our gas and that's all we need," she said.
Area resident Alisha Bracken said she didn't think the hurricane would be as strong as predicted, but had prepared for it nevertheless.
"Well all our windows are boarded up. We have water, water for the dogs, food for the kids. It's pretty chaotic out there. I'm glad I prepared last weekend," she said.
NHC Director Ken Graham urged Florida residents to have their preparations wrapped up on Sunday before tropical storm-force winds hit the coast that night.
Dorian began on Friday over the Atlantic as a Category 2 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale but strengthened to a Category 3 later in the day. It had maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour (185 km per hour), according to the latest NHC advisory.
If, as expected, Dorian reaches Category 4 strength over the weekend, its winds will blow at more than 130 mph (210 kph). It is currently moving at a pace of 10 miles per hour (16 km/h), giving it more time to intensify before making landfall.
Rainfall of about 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm), with up to 18 inches (46 cm) in some areas of the northwestern Bahamas and Florida, is expected.
Dorian could churn across dozens of launchpads owned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Air Force and companies such as Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.
(Production: Alberto Fajardo, Arlene Eiras) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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