Hurricane Ian is projected to reach the coast of South Carolina later on Friday, move over the east of the state and then travel up to North Carolina.
According to the National Hurricane Center’s latest advisory, Ian is currently about 105 miles southeast of Charleston, the largest city in South Carolina with some 800,000 people.
Ian’s maximum sustained winds have remained around 85 mph (140kmph) and NHC forecasts say winds of tropical storm intensity are ongoing across much of the coast of the Carolinas.
Life-threatening storm surge and hurricane conditions are expected in the region by afternoon.
Ian is however expected to rapidly weaken after it makes landfall, become a so-called extratropical low – a cyclone with a low pressure centre – by the time it moves over North Carolina and dissipate by Saturday night.
These satellite images show Hurricane Ian’s progression as it first barrelled across Cuba in the Caribbean on Tuesday before heading to Florida.
Ian was downgraded to a tropical storm after making landfall in Florida on Wednesday and Thursday.
But as it moved into the Atlantic Ocean it regained its hurricane strength and is now heading for South Carolina and Georgia.
South Carolina braces for life-threatening storm surges
As Hurricane Ian heads towards the coast of South Carolina, meterorologists are warning of life-threatening storm surges and winds of 140km per hour (87mph).
Tens of thousands of residents have moved away from low-lying land.
In Florida, the focus has now turned to a massive search and rescue operation after Ian caused widespread damage across the state on Wednesday and Thursday.
Nearly two million still without power in Florida
Just under two million homes and businesses in Florida are still without power after the state was battered by Hurricane Ian.
That’s down from more than 3.3 million power customers who have been affected by the storm since it hit Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday.
Emergency workers have been trying to reach stranded Florida residents as Ian heads on towards North and South Carolina, leaving behind deadly floodwaters, downed power lines and widespread damage.
Duke Energy Corp said it was readying crews to respond to potential power outages across the Carolinas, according to Reuters.
Source: BBC