Motorists streamed inland on highways converted to one-way routes on Tuesday as more than one million people in three states were ordered to move out of the way of Hurricane Florence, a storm taking aim at the Carolinas with 130mph winds.
Florence was expected to blow ashore late Thursday or early Friday, then slow down and peter out over the next few days, unloading 1-2.5 feet of rain that could cause flooding, washing over industrial waste sites and hog farms.
Forecasters and politicians pleaded asked the public to take warnings seriously.
“This storm is a monster. It’s big and it’s vicious. It is an extremely, dangerous, life-threatening, historic hurricane,” said North Carolina governor Roy Cooper.
“The waves and the wind this storm may bring is nothing like you’ve ever seen. Even if you’ve ridden out storms before, this one is different. Don’t bet your life on riding out a monster.”
North and South Carolina and Virginia ordered mass evacuations along the coast. But getting out of harm’s way could prove difficult.
Florence is so wide that a life-threatening storm surge was being pushed 300 miles ahead of its eye, and the rainfall could deluge states from South Carolina to Ohio and Pennsylvania.
People across the region rushed to buy water and other supplies, board up their homes or get out of town.
A line of heavy traffic moved away from the coast on Interstate 40, the main route between the port city of Wilmington and inland Raleigh.
Between the two cities, about two hours apart, the traffic flowed smoothly in places but was gridlocked in others.
Only a trickle of vehicles headed towards the coast, carrying plywood and other building materials.
Service stations as far west as Raleigh started running out of petrol, with bright yellow bags, signs or rags placed over the pumps.
At 2pm, the storm was 1,360km south-east of Cape Fear, North Carolina, moving at 28kph. It is a potentially catastrophic Category 4 storm but is expected to draw further energy from warm water and intensify to near Category 5, which would bring winds of 253kph or higher.
“This one really scares me,” National Hurricane Centre Director Ken Graham said.
Forecasters said parts of North Carolina could get 50 centimetres of rain, with as much as 25cm elsewhere in the state and in Virginia, parts of Maryland and Washington DC.
One trusted computer model, the European simulation, predicted more than 112cm in parts of North Carolina. A year ago, people would have laughed off such a forecast, but the European model was accurate in predicting 150cm of rain for Hurricane Harvey in the Houston area, so “you start to wonder what these models know that we don’t,” said University of Miami hurricane expert Brian McNoldy.
On Parris Island, South Carolina, recruits were ordered to leave the Marine Corps’ biggest training centre on the East Coast.
The storm forced people to cut their holidays short.
Paula Matheson of Springfield, Oregon, got the full "Southern experience" during her 10-week RV holiday: hot weather, good food, beautiful beaches and also a hurricane evacuation.
Florence interrupted her stay on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. It took Matheson and her husband nearly all day on Monday to drive the 60 miles off the barrier island.
“It was so beautiful. The water was fabulous. Eighty-five degrees,” Matheson said, pausing a moment. “I guess that’s a big part of the problem.”
Florence could slam the Carolinas harder than any hurricane since Hazel, which hit in 1954 with 209kph winds. The Category 4 storm destroyed 15,000 buildings and killed 19 people in North Carolina.
In the six decades since, thousands of people have moved to the coast.
Florence’s projected path will include nuclear power plants, pits holding coal-ash and other industrial waste, and numerous hog farms that store animal waste in huge lagoons.
Duke Energy spokesman Ryan Mosier said operators would begin shutting down nuclear plants at least two hours before hurricane-force winds arrive.
North Carolina's governor issued a first-of-its-kind mandatory evacuation order for North Carolina's fragile barrier islands.
“We’ve seen nor’easters and we’ve seen hurricanes before,” Mr Cooper said, “but this one is different.”
The biog
Age: 59
From: Giza Governorate, Egypt
Family: A daughter, two sons and wife
Favourite tree: Ghaf
Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense
Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%20%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Steffi%20Niederzoll%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Reyhaneh%20Jabbari%2C%20Shole%20Pakravan%2C%20Zar%20Amir%20Ebrahimi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
Destroyer
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Sebastian Stan
Rating: 3/5
UAE release: January 31
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 480hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 570Nm from 2,300-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 10.4L/100km
Price: from Dh547,600
On sale: now
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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if you go
The flights
Fly direct to Kutaisi with Flydubai from Dh925 return, including taxes. The flight takes 3.5 hours. From there, Svaneti is a four-hour drive. The driving time from Tbilisi is eight hours.
The trip
The cost of the Svaneti trip is US$2,000 (Dh7,345) for 10 days, including food, guiding, accommodation and transfers from and to Tbilisi or Kutaisi. This summer the TCT is also offering a 5-day hike in Armenia for $1,200 (Dh4,407) per person. For further information, visit www.transcaucasiantrail.org/en/hike/
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
WandaVision
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany
Directed by: Matt Shakman
Rating: Four stars
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets