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TechnoratiThousands evacuated as Hurricane Earl approaches
Thousands of people were evacuated from North Carolina’s barrier islands on Wednesday as a strengthened Hurricane Earl approached the US East Coast. Forecasters have warned that a second storm was forming in the Atlantic that could threaten Haiti, which is still reeling from an earthquake this year.
Hurricane Earl is threatening to lash the US east coast with heavy winds and rough seas. Forecasters say Earl will disrupt US Labor Day holiday which traditionally draws workers to the seaside for a last summer dip.
At 3.00 am GMT on Thursday, Earl, which earlier regained category four status, sustained winds of 220 kilometers, the National Hurricane Center said.
US officials have ordered a mandatory evacuation for thousands of visitors plus the estimated 800 residents on North Carolina's Ocracoke Island, where a ferry service is the only means of transportation back to the mainland.
In a sign that the hurricane season is starting, forcasters have warned that a second storm is forming in the Atlantic Ocean, Tropical Storm Gaston.
Tropical Storm Gaston was centred over 2,000 km east of the Lesser Antilles and could be on track for Haiti, nine months after an earthquake left 230,000 people dead in the impoverished island nation.
Currently, many Haiti residents still live in makeshift houses or tents and have nowhere to go if a hurricane struck the country.
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