US orders evacuation of people in North Carolina

Category 4 Hurricane Erin is expected to strengthen dramatically in the coming days as it passes between the US East Coast and Bermuda, forcing evacuations from some islands in North Carolina.

The United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned in its latest bulletin that Erin is 180 kilometers north of the Turks and Caicos Islands, with maximum sustained winds of up to 220 kilometers per hour.

Furthermore, the same entity warned that the hurricane's predicted path — parallel to the east coast of the United States — has deviated slightly to the west, approaching the coast of the United States.

Strong winds, along with dangerous waves and life-threatening rip currents, have led authorities to order the evacuation of residents on the tourist islands of Ocracoke and Hatteras, North Carolina, where about 5,000 people reside.

Thus, Erin is expected to pass southeast of the Bahamas this Monday and move between Bermuda and the east coast of the United States by the middle of this week, remaining a strong and dangerous hurricane.

Dangerous conditions at sea extend across much of the East Coast of the United States, as well as the Bahamas, Bermuda, and Atlantic Canada.

The Miami-based NHC also warned of heavy rainfall in the Turks and Caicos Islands, southeastern and central Bahamas, with accumulations of 50 to 100 millimeters and maximum rainfall up to 150 millimeters, which could cause flash flooding, urban flooding and landslides.

Minor coastal flooding is also expected in high tide areas.

NHC forecasters specified that hurricane-force winds extend up to 130 kilometers from its center, and tropical storm-force winds reach up to 370 kilometers.

The hurricane's size will increase "dramatically" as it approaches the US coast, generating waves of more than 15 meters high, the agency added.

The system is currently moving northwest at 17 kilometers per hour, with a gradual turn to the north expected between Monday and Tuesday.

Erin has already caused strong winds and rain over the weekend in the Caribbean region, especially in Puerto Rico, although without causing serious impacts.

It first emerged as a tropical storm last Monday near Cape Verde, where it caused nine deaths , and ended up becoming a hurricane on Friday, after the formation of storms Andrea, Barry, Chantal and Dexter in the Atlantic.

Chantal was the first hurricane to make landfall this year in the United States, leaving at least two dead in North Carolina in July.

NOAA maintained its forecast for an "above-normal" cyclone season, estimating between 13 and 18 tropical storms, of which between five and nine could become hurricanes.