Dorian has strengthened back to a Category 3 hurricane.
Published: Thu 5 Sep 2019, 10:02 AM
Updated: Thu 5 Sep 2019, 7:04 PM
The UAE Consulate in New York has issued a weather warning to all UAE citizens living in the US states of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina as Hurricane Dorian was upgraded to a Category 3 storm late Wednesday.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Dorian, which has already wrought major damage on Grand Bahama and Abaco islands, was packing maximum sustained winds of 185kmph, making it a Category 3 storm on the five-level scale.
The authorities warned UAE citizens to closely watch local news and following instructions of local emergency services and urged them to contact the consulate in the event of an emergency.
On its Twitter page, the UAE Consulate in New York City, said:
Attention, UAE citizens currently in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina: Please continue to monitor Hurricane Dorian closely by watching your local news and following instructions of local emergency services.
If you need further assistance, call the UAE Consulate General in New York (646) 630-2575 or the UAE Embassy at (202) 431-5530 or in case of emergency, please call 911.
Hurricane Dorian had crashed into the island nation as its strongest hurricane on record earlier this week, but has weakened greatly since - down from a Category 5 to a Category 2 storm before increasing again late Wednesday. Dorian still boasts dangerously high winds of 115 mph (185 kph) as it is sideswiping the coasts of Georgia and the Carolinas.
In South Carolina, more than 1,500 people have sought refuge in 28 shelters as authorities worried about the historic and vulnerable port city of Charleston. Dorian was centered overnight about 168 kilometres south of Charleston and moving north, just offshore.
Earlier this week, Dorian left wide devastation and at least 20 dead in striking the northern Bahamas.
Though weakened, Dorian remained a force to be reckoned with, its swirling circle of winds and rain wrapped around a large, gaping eye visible on photos taken from space. At 11 pm EDT on Wednesday the distinct eye of the hurricane churned about 105 miles (168 kilometers) south of Charleston, moving north at 7 mph (11 kph) off the coast.
In Charleston's downtown, stores and restaurants were boarded up with wood and corrugated metal and about 830,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders on the South Carolina coast.
Hundreds of thousands also were ordered off the Georgia coast. A flood chart posted by the National Weather Service projected a combined high tide and storm surge around Charleston Harbor of 3.1 metres; the record, 4 metres, was set by Hugo in 1989.
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