MANTEO, N.C. — When Hurricane Dorian finally left the Bahamas on Tuesday and made its slow trek up the Florida coastline, the Category 2 storm began to bring heavy rain and wind to the Georgia coast.
But what’s next for Dorian as it makes its way to the Carolinas?
Forecasters are warning of near-record water levels, and millions are under evacuation orders as Hurricane Dorian creeps up the Southeastern coast of the United States.
Rain from the outermost bands have been pelting downtown Charleston, South Carolina, where shops are normally packed with tourists. Instead they are boarded up along King Street.
The historic city sits on a peninsula that already floods at high tides, and the city is expecting trouble as Dorian's storm surge tops a 10-foot-high tide on Thursday.
Hundreds of people in low-lying areas are evacuating to shelters ahead of the storm, supported by Red Cross volunteers.
U.S. Army veteran Mark Russell says he went to a shelter early to avoid the rush. He doesn't want to experience what he lived through during Hurricane Hugo, which slammed into South Carolina's coast in 1989, killing dozens of people and causing $6 billion in damage.
Further north in Manteo, North Carolina, 11Alive’s Andy Pierrotti says they haven’t seen much of Dorrian yet, but they are preparing - and not taking this lightly.
Residents are being asked to evacuate ahead of the storm, and Dare County officials are providing bus service for residents without transportation.
Closer to the coast in Nags Head, N.C., businesses are starting to board up as they prepare for Dorian’s arrival late Thursday evening.
Forecasters say a tropical storm warning has been issued from North Carolina and the Virginia border to Chincoteague, Virginia, and for Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point southward.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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