US East Coast braces for impact as Hermine ploughs inland
Hurricane which lashed Florida and weakened to tropical storm set to regain strength as it moves
The first hurricane to hit Florida in more than a decade wiped away beachside buildings and toppled trees onto homes on Friday before ploughing inland on a path that could send it rolling up the densely populated east coast with heavy rain, high winds and flooding.
Hermine quickly weakened to a tropical storm and was spinning inland along the North Carolina coast late on Friday. But the National Hurricane Centre predicted it would regain hurricane strength late in the weekend after emerging over the Atlantic Ocean.
The system could then lash coastal areas as far north as Connecticut and Rhode Island through Labour Day.
“Anyone along the US East Coast needs to be paying close attention this weekend,” said Dennis Feltgen, a spokesman for the National Hurricane Centre.
In Florida, Hermine’s main impact came in the form of power outages and damage from storm surges. A homeless man south of Gainesville died when a tree fell on him, Governor Rick Scott said.
He later took to a Blackhawk helicopter to visit the coastal communities of Cedar Key and Steinhatchee – hit hard by the damage from flooding and storm surge that crumpled docks and washed out homes and businesses.