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Georgia Officials Keeping an Eye on Hurricane Florence

cnn.com

As Hurricane Florence strengthens to a Category 4 in the Atlantic Ocean, Governor Nathan Deal and Georgia Emergency Management Association (GEMA) are watching to see if the storm will turn and potentially effect the coast of Georgia.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Governor Deal and GEMA are working with the Federal Emergency Management Association to create a state operations center in order to track the storm.

As of Monday, Sept. 10, four states, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland, have declared states of emergency in anticipation of the storm.

In a press conference Monday, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper emphasized the potential destruction the state could face.

“The forecast places North Carolina in the bulls-eye of Hurricane Florence, and it is rapidly getting stronger. When weather forecasters tell us ‘life-threatening,’ we know that it is serious,” Cooper stated.

Meanwhile, in South Carolina, Governor Henry McMaster stated that mandatory coastal evacuations will begin Tuesday at noon.

According to the National Hurricane Center, a Category 4 storm can cause significant destruction with winds between 130-156 miles per hour. Homes are capable of being destroyed, and affected areas could be uninhabitable for weeks or months.

Some notable Category 4 hurricanes of the past include 2008’s Hurricane Ike and 2017’s Hurricane Harvey.

According to WXIA, the greatest threat to Georgia at the moment is heavy rainfall, but residents should keep watch over the hurricane tracker over the next few days to make sure Florence’s path does not shift.

For more information, please visit the National Hurricane Center’s website: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/.