Category 3 Dorian Scrapes Charleston, Could Make Landfall

Hurricane Dorian was about 70 miles from Charleston, South Carolina, Thursday morning and could make landfall later in the day.

The hurricane moved up to a Category 3 storm and coastal areas saw heavy rain Thursday morning. The storm hovered over the Bahamas beginning Sunday for more than a day before clipping Florida.

Dorian could make landfall anywhere from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to North Carolina’s Outer Banks, CNN reported. Some of Charleston’s streets have flooded, and the area could get up to 15 inches of rain. Over 220,000 homes and businesses did not have power in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina because of Dorian Thursday morning.

A hurricane warning is in effect up to the North Carolina-Virginia border, CNN reported. Authorities issued mandatory evacuations and emergency declarations for parts of Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia as the storm neared.

At least 20 people died because of Dorian in the Bahamas, and the death toll is expected to rise, Bahamas Healthy Minister Duane Sands said Wednesday. Dorian caused catastrophic damage to the islands.

“We’ve had an absolute horrendous tragedy, numbers of lives lost, and we have not completed the door-to-door,” Sands said according to NBC News.

A second tropical storm is brewing in the Atlantic, CNN reported. Tropical Storm Gabrielle could strengthen by the weekend, the National Hurricane Center reported.