Our live coverage of Hurricane Dorian has moved. Follow the latest updates here.
Miami’s mayor has said that the city is going through a pre-storm checklist and making sure its pump stations are in good working order.
Speaking to CNN early on Thursday morning, Mayor Francis X. Suarez urged residents to be prepared while the city works through its pre-storm checklist of preparations to make sure their pump stations are working.
After Hurricane Irma flooded parts of the city in 2017, the city installed two pumps that pumped 50,000 gallons of water a minute in vulnerable areas such as Brikell and Mary Brickell, Suarez said.
“Once the storm passes, we urge our residents to call our 311 system so we can go into recovery mode immediately,” she said.
In its latest public advisory, the National Hurricane Center said there are no coastal watches or warnings in effect, but residents in northwestern and central Bahamas should monitor the storm, which may head their way on Saturday. Heavy rainfall there could create flash floods.
The hurricane is moving northwest, which is expected to continue into the weekend.
Wind speeds are still at 85 miles per hour, consistent with the last report at 11 p.m. ET – but the Center warned that the hurricane is expected to strengthen over the next few days, and become a major hurricane on Friday.
Read the full report here.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Coast Guard Captain of the Port (COTP) set port condition Whiskey for Port Canaveral in Florida – a classification level that’s declared when there are expected gale force winds within 72 hours.
What this means: All ocean-going commercial vessels and ocean-going barges greater than 500 gross tons should make plans for departing the port, and vessels that want to stay in port must receive permission from COTP. Vessels heading for Port Canaveral should seek an alternative destination if they can’t depart 24 hours before the winds reach land.
The next level of port condition is Yankee, which is raised when sustained gale force winds are expected within 24 hours. At that point, vessel movement will be restricted, and all movements must be approved by the captain of the port.
The Coast Guard is also warning the public to:
Florida is getting ready for Hurricane Dorian, which is expected to make landfall during Labor Day Weekend.
Local energy provider Florida Power said it was monitoring the hurricane and making preparations in case their service area was affected. Yesterday, there were almost 25,000 power outages on St. Croix, one of the US Virgin Islands.
Meanwhile, the University of Central Florida says it will monitor the hurricane and decide whether class and operations will continue or be canceled on Thursday.
Other Southern states are also getting ready – Georgia Power supplies energy to 2,553,123 customers in the state, and it said it is also monitoring the storm’s path.
The worst seems to have passed in Puerto Rico, and things will mostly go back to normal tomorrow, officials say.
Airports will be in regular operation on Thursday, according to Anthony O. Maceira Zayas, the Port Authority Executive Director.
Zayas also tweeted that as soon as the US Coast Guard reopens the Port of San Juan, they will begin to receive cargo ships and passengers scheduled for this week.
Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz says schools are back in session in San Juan and employees in that municipality will go back to their normal working schedule on Thursday.
“Thankful to the community for all the help through this event; and we continue to encourage everyone to maintain informed during this hurricane season,” Yulin Cruz said in her statement.
US President Donald Trump has federally approved the Virgin Islands’ emergency declaration.
This means the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are now authorized to deploy the equipment and resources they feel are necessary.
“Emergency protective measures, limited to direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent federal funding,” the White House said in a press release.
The National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center have updated their public advisory for Hurricane Dorian as the storm moves away from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
However, the Center warned that there will be heavy rainfall in the Bahamas, which could cause “life-threatening” flash floods.
Read the entire advisory here.
Hurricane Dorian intensified rapidly today, according to CNN meteorologists.
Wind speeds measured 50 miles per hour at 11pm ET on Tuesday. Now, it’s reached 85 mph – and an increase of 35 mph in 24 hours meets the official criteria for Rapid Intensification (RI).
Meteorologists warn that the storm will likely continue intensifying and experience more rounds of intensification – Dorian is expected to become a Category 3 by the time it hits Florida this weekend.
It’s currently a Category 1 storm. If wind speeds reach 96 mph, it will be classified as Category 2.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has over 3,000 people in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, an agency spokesperson told CNN.
The FEMA employees are helping community needs from the Dorian tropical storm, as well as assisting ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico in 2017.
The spokesperson added that personnel on the ground include logistics and transportation teams, emergency response support teams, and emergency communications teams.
About 25,000 power outages in St. Croix, one of the Virgin Islands, were restored earlier this evening, officials say.
Jean Greaux of the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority said:
Greaux said the island of St. John is restored, and restoration work on St. Thomas is ongoing with a significant portion already re-energized. Restoration work will continue through the night.
Once Hurricane Dorian is done thrashing Puerto Rico, southeastern US states could get walloped on Labor Day weekend.
While it’s too early to tell exactly where or when Dorian might strike the US mainland, one of the storm’s possible targets is Jacksonville, Florida.
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said it’s too early to make any decisions about evacuations but warned that damage from Dorian could come in different forms.
“Will it be the wind? Will it be the flooding? Will it be downed power lines?” Curry said. “The impacts are unpredictable.”
The eye of Hurricane Dorian is moving away from Puerto Rico but it may be intensifying as it pushes into the Atlantic, according to satellite and radar images.
Hurricane force winds have not been reported in Puerto Rico as they have been in the US Virgin Islands. Forecasters say wind gusts of up to 40 mph and some lingering showers are still possible on the island.
The center of Dorian was located roughly 50 miles northeast of San Juan on Wednesday evening.
Images from St. Thomas show debris, tree branches and damaged roofs in downtown Charlotte Amalie.
A resident, Terence Thomas, said some of the damaged roofs had been covered with blue tarps since Hurricane Maria hit the island two years ago.
“People have been through a lot in the past two years,” Thomas told CNN via WhatsApp. “This event was mild compared to the last two (hurricanes).”
Several airlines have canceled dozens of flights at the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan as Dorian nears the island.
Airport officials tweeted a list of the 52 departing and 50 arriving flights that were canceled Wednesday.
Puerto Rican officials installed a brand new generator in Culebra that is supposed to cover all of the island, said Jose Ortiz, the Executive Director of the Electric Power Authority (PREPA).
“A month ago, we installed a 6-megawatts generator that has the capacity to cover 100% of the electric services of the island,” Ortiz told reporters earlier on Wednesday.
He added that most of the areas Hurricane Maria hit in 2017 are stronger today because of all the repairs they had to go through.
PREPA has over 1 million power customers and returning power to the island after Maria was a challenge. At the time, the blackout in Puerto Rico was considered the largest in US history and the second-largest in world history.
Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency urging residents to prepare for Hurricane Dorian.
Here’s his statement:
Dorian is gradually moving away from the Northeast Caribbean Sea and is expected to become a dangerous hurricane in the Western Atlantic Ocean, according to the National Weather Service’s latest update on the storm.
Hurricane conditions are ongoing over portions of the US Virgin Islands, and could still occur over Vieques, Culebra, and the British Virgin Islands during the next several hours, according to NWS. These winds should subside tonight.
Meanwhile, tropical storm conditions are expected in Puerto Rico through tonight.
Swells are expected to increase later today across the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and along the southern coasts of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, and they could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
Here’s a tweet from the National Hurricane Center showing Dorian’s path:
Chris Heck, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was vacationing at St. John Inn in Cruz Bay when Dorian descended.
He tweeted this video around 3 p.m. Wednesday:
The Florida Department of Emergency Management tweeted that residents should have 7 days of supplies in preparation for Hurricane Dorian.
“A stocked supply kit has water, nonperishable food, prescription medications, flashlights and extra batteries,” the agency said in the tweet, which included a checklist.
Here’s the tweet:
