[Effective 5:00pm] A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Florida’s east coast from Jupiter Inlet to the Volusia/Brevard County Line. Evacuations outlined below.

At 500 PM EDT (2100 UTC), the distinct eye of Hurricane Dorian was located near latitude 26.6 North, longitude 77.3 West. Dorian is moving toward the west near 5 mph (7 km/h). A slower westward to west-northwestward motions should continue for the next day or two, followed by a gradual turn toward the northwest.

On this track, the core of extremely dangerous Hurricane Dorian will continue to pound Great Abaco this evening and move near or over Grand Bahama Island tonight and Monday. The hurricane will move dangerously close to the Florida east coast late Monday through Tuesday night.

Maximum sustained winds are near 185 mph (295 km/h) with higher gusts. Dorian is a category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some fluctuations in intensity are likely, and Dorian is expected to remain a catastrophic hurricane during the next few days (LINK).

CTH is suspending the majority of news and topic posts in order to focus on those who may need assistance due to Hurricane Dorian.  Long-time CTH readers will remember our Civilian Emergency Response Team (CERT) efforts from prior storms and recovery.

As hurricane Dorian continues the westward advancement several East coast counties in Florida have begun announcing evacuation plans.   If you live on the east coast of Florida it is critical you pay attention to local officials.

Key Central Information Hub Here to include available shelters

FloridaDisaster.Org has ongoing updates regarding evacuation plans:

Brevard County – Issues Mandatory Evacuation Order Ahead of #Dorian The following residents should START evacuating on Monday, September 2 at 8 a.m.: -those who live on the barrier islands, including areas from Kennedy Space Center south to the south beaches, and Merritt Island, -those in mobile homes or manufactured housing, -those in low-lying, flood-prone areas, -those with special medical needs such as electrical dependence.

Martin County – Mandatory evacuations of Zones A-B will go into affect at 1300 today. This includes Hutchinson Island, Jupiter Island, Sewall’s Point, low lying areas, and mobile and manufactured homes.

Palm Beach County – Starting 1pm Today (9/1/2019) Mandatory evacuation order for those who live in Zone A and Zone B. Zone A includes mobile homes, sub-standard housing and low-lying areas prone to water intrusion. Zone B includes the barrier islands, land areas north and south of the Jupiter Inlet, and other surge-vulnerable areas south along the Intracoastal Waterway to the Broward County line.

St. Lucie County – St. Lucie county has issued a mandatory evacuation order for residents on the barrier island (North and South Hutchinson Island), those living in low-lying coastal areas and mobile homes. That order will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday (9/1/2019).

Volusia County – Volusia County officials will issue a mandatory evacuation order at 10 a.m. Monday, Sept. 2, for residents who live on the beachside and in low-lying areas, RVs and mobile homes. However, residents don’t have to wait until the order is issued. If you have a place to go, it would be best to leave the area today.

You can find your “Zone” and more information HERE

Please heed Governor Ron DeSantis advice:

Unfortunately the forecast models for this storm cannot predict exactly when hurricane Dorian may take a turn to the North.   Therefore all in the path of uncertainty should plan for the worst, and pray for the best.   Given the scale and power of this particulate storm, that planning should include evacuating your family as soon as reasonably possible.

Remember, right now all decisions are yours.  You are in complete proactive control over what actions you are taking.  There may come a time when you are reacting to events and situations that are no longer in your control… However, that time is not yet upon you.

If you are able to leave the East coast from the areas outlined within the greatest threat, it would be prudent and wise to do so.  Try not to wait until the last minute.

Everything will be OK.  Do not allow yourself to be overcome with concern or fear to the point your are too anxious to function smartly.  Do not succumb to dark imaginings; focus on what you can do, not what you fear you cannot do.

If you have prepared yourself and your family, reach out to friends and neighbors to ask if they might need assistance.  One of the greatest ways to avoid feeling a lack of control, is to help others.  By helping others you help yourself more than you know.

Ask your neighbors, particularly the elderly, if they need any assistance in the event of an evacuation.  Many people are fraught with pride and find it difficult to ask for help. Get beyond that yourself, and help others get beyond that through genuine care and concern.

Try to keep all of your activity in the Green Box.  “What I am doing is not urgent, but it is important and adds value to me and my family.” Stress is manageable here.

Smart, empowered and thoughtful people spend the maximum amount of their time and energy in the place where things are not urgent, but they are -or will be- important.

As the storm approaches, and if the storm hits your area, you could/will eventually be in the Urgent/Important “reactionary box” where decisions and actions are forced by the situation.

Have faith in your family and friends.  Be thankful for the marvels of technology that allow us to prepare and be proactive.   Everything will be OK, even if we lose all your material possessions; we will be OK.

Our trucks are loaded; our teams are staged; there are thousands of really decent, hard-working and smart people ready to move and activate if recovery is needed.  We have angels on our shoulders.  Strive to be thankful amid adversity.

Chopper pressers are the best pressers.  As President Trump arrived back at the White House from Camp David, and just prior to a visit to FEMA Headquarters, he paused on the south lawn to answer media questions. [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] THE PRESIDENT: Hello. First of all, I’d like to thank law enforcement yesterday, in Texas. They’ve been incredible. First responders, law enforcement, the police, the FBI, Governor Abbott — incredible, the job they did. It’s tragic, but they did an incredible job under the circumstances. It’s another very sick person.

So I just want to thank everybody involved. And always, you say: As bad as it was, it could have been worse. But it was certainly bad. Very, very sad situation.

Also, I’d like to introduce Admiral Brown of the U.S. Coast Guard, a highly respected man. We spent two days at Camp David going over a lot of different things having to do with the hurricane. The Admiral has informed me through all of the different sources that he has — but you can pretty much get it on television, Admiral — this is now a Category 5. It seems to be one of the biggest hurricanes we’ve ever seen. And that’s a problem. That’s a problem.

So I think a lot of — we have a lot of great — we have a lot of great people working right now. We don’t know where it’s going to hit but we have an idea. Probably a little bit different than the original course. The original course was dead into Florida. Now it seems to be going up to toward South Carolina, toward North Carolina. Georgia is going to be hit. Alabama is going to get a piece of it, it looks like. But it can change its course again and it could go back more toward Florida.

So we’ll be knowing — we’ll be learning over the next probably, less than 24 hours. But it is a very, very powerful hurricane.

Q (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, we’re looking at the same things. We’re in the process of dealing with Democrats, Republicans. They’ve been working very hard on it. They’re coming back very soon. And there’s a big package of things that’s going to be put before them by a lot of different people. We have a lot of groups working on it.

Q Mr. President, have you spoken to Senators Toomey, (inaudible), Wayne LaPierre (inaudible)?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I’ve been speaking to them. I’ve been speaking to a lot of senators. We’ve been speaking to a lot of House members, a lot of Republicans, a lot of Democrats. And people want to do something. So we’re going to see.

This really hasn’t changed anything. We’re doing a package, and we’ll see what it all — how it comes about. It’s coming about right now. And a lot of people are talking about it. And that’s irrespective of what happened yesterday in Texas.

Q Mr. President, have you spoken to House Democrats about (inaudible)?

THE PRESIDENT: Well we’re looking at a lot of different things. We’re looking at a lot of different bills, ideas, concepts. It’s been going on for a long while. Background checks.

I will say that, for the most part, sadly, if you look at the last four or five — going back, even five or six or seven years, for the most part, as strong as you make your background checks, they would not have stopped any of it. So it’s a big problem. It’s a mental problem. It’s a big problem.

Q On China, sir, the new tariffs (inaudible) — have you spoken to President Xi?

THE PRESIDENT: So China is moving along. We’re doing very well. It was brought out very strongly today by a number of great economists that, because China has devalued their currency so much, that, in fact, they are actually paying for all of the tariffs. We have — in addition to that, as you know, they’re pouring money into their economy. So those two things, they are paying for their tariffs.

As you know, some new tariffs get on. We’re taking in tens of billions of dollars. We’re giving some of the money to the farmers. I’m making the farmers more than whole. The farmers are doing better than if China, frankly, were buying. I’m taking a piece of the massive amount of tariffs, and we’re giving them to the farmers who have been targeted unfairly by China.

We are talking to China. The meeting is still on, as you know, in September. That hasn’t changed. They haven’t changed and we haven’t. We’ll see what happens.

But we can’t allow China to rip us off anymore as a country. We can’t allow China to take $500 billion a year out of our country. We can’t do that.

Q Mr. President, do you have a message for Poland —

THE PRESIDENT: Yeah.

Q — on the 80th anniversary of the Second World War? What (inaudible)?

THE PRESIDENT: I do have a great message for Poland. And we have Mike Pence, our Vice President, is just about landing right now. And he is representing me. I look forward to being there soon.

But I just want to congratulate Poland. It’s a great country with great people. We also have many Polish people in our country; it could be 8 million. We love our Polish friends. And I will be there soon.

Q Mr. President, do you believe that Congress should (inaudible)? And why should Americans —

THE PRESIDENT: Say it. Say it. Speak up.

Q Mr. President, do you believe that Congress should (inaudible)? And why should Americans believe that now (inaudible)?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think Congress has got a lot of thinking to do, frankly, and they have a lot of — they’ve been doing a lot of work. I will tell you, on behalf of Republicans and Democrats, they’ve been doing a lot of work having to do with guns. And I think you’re going to see some interesting things coming along.

On the hurricane, Admiral, would you like to say something as to the size and scope of the hurricane?

ADMIRAL BROWN: Certainly, Mr. President. Thank you. This hurricane is very strong — Category 5 — which talks about the wind. It will also have substantial destructive, life-threatening storm surge, fresh-water rainfall in four states. Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina can all expect to see tropical storm to hurricane-force impacts over the coming days. So the time for preparation is now.

THE PRESIDENT: And I’ll be going with the Admiral and many others over to FEMA in about an hour. And we’ll be having somewhat of a news conference over there where you won’t have the engines blaring. But we’ll have a news conference over at FEMA. So we’ll see you — most of you — there.

Okay? Thank you. Thank you very much.

END 11:21 A.M. EDT

President Trump travels to FEMA Headquarters for a briefing on the current state of storm preparedness in advance of Hurricane Dorian having impact on the U.S. coastline.

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WHITE HOUSE – President Donald J. Trump received a briefing today from senior members of his Administration and Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia, Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina, and Governor Henry McMaster of South Carolina on the Federal and State efforts underway to prepare for and respond to Hurricane Dorian at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The president began the briefing by offering his deepest sympathies for the tragic events in Odessa, Texas yesterday, praised first responders for their response, and reaffirmed his commitment to working with Congress to take decisive action to stop the scourge of mass attacks, and to reduce violent crime in all of its evil forms.

President Trump stressed to the Governors participating in the briefing that the Federal Government’s top priorities as Hurricane Dorian approaches the East Coast are providing life-saving and life-sustaining support to the State managed and locally executed efforts, and his Administration stands ready to assist in their readiness, response, and recovery operations.

President Trump asked everyone in Hurricane Dorian’s path to pay close attention to this dangerous and potentially life threatening storm, and heed all warnings and evacuation orders from State and local authorities to minimize any unnecessary risks for the public and our brave first responders. He stressed the most important task is the protection of innocent life, and expressed concern for the tens of thousands of Americans in the Bahamas.

Following the briefing President Trump toured the National Response Coordination Center and commended the efforts of Federal and state emergency managers, our brave military, and first responders for their actions before, during, and after the impact of Hurricane Dorian (LINK).

Florida has suspended all roadway tolls as intensely powerful Hurricane Dorian continues a slow westward track over the Bahamas.  There is a great deal of uncertainty on the timing of any northward shift… Everyone on the east coast of Florida pay attention.

The eye-wall of category-five hurricane Dorian now carries 185 mph winds outward 45 miles from center.  This presents a 90-mile-wide buzzsaw of devastating impact.  It cannot be overstated how dangerous this storm has become.  Very few structures can withstand winds of that scale for any prolonged duration of time.  [Hurricane Center Update]

This is a ‘topography changing’ event.

At 200 PM EDT (1800 UTC), the extremely distinct eye of Hurricane Dorian was located near latitude 26.5 North, longitude 77.1 West. Dorian is moving toward the west near 7 mph (11 km/h). A slower westward motion should continue for the next day or two, followed by a gradual turn toward the northwest. On this track, the core of extremely dangerous Hurricane Dorian will continue to pound Great Abaco today and the move near or over Grand Bahama Island tonight and Monday. The hurricane should move closer to the Florida east coast late Monday through Tuesday night.

Maximum sustained winds are near 185 mph (295 km/h) with higher gusts. Dorian is a extremely dangerous category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some fluctuations in intensity are likely, and Dorian is expected to remain a catastrophic hurricane during the next few days.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles (75 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 140 miles (220 km).  (more)

For the east coast of Florida everything is contingent on a sharp turn north as predicted by the National Hurricane Center….  However, even a few miles further West can make a big difference.  Do not take the path of this storm lightly.

In the past 48 hours Dorian has only moved 0.3 degrees north in latitude.  It has been heading almost due West for the past two days.  The Bahamas are now experiencing one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded; and unfortunately it is moving slowly.

If you are along the Florida east coast. Do not take chances. Listen to evacuation instructions from your local officials.

A Hurricane Watch is now in effect for: North of Deerfield Beach to the Volusia/Brevard County Line. All preparations should be rushed to completion.

Having personally been through four direct impact hurricanes from Andrew (’92) through Irma (’17).  Current hurricane Dorian is much more like Andrew (Homestead, FL), and it is simply too risky to stay.   If this storm doesn’t turn North as predicted it will mean significant problems.  The aftermath of life after a storm like this is very hard.

If you can leave the east coast it would be prudent to prepare NOW to do so.  As soon as any evacuation order is given, please leave.