HURRICANE READINESS People line up to enter a hurricane shelter at Trask Middle School in North Carolina as Hurricane Florence is expected to deliver a “direct hit” to the US East Coast, emergency officials warned on September 11, 2018. AFP PHOTO
WILMINGTON: Hurricane Florence was on course Wednesday to deliver a powerful blow to the east coast of the United States, with forecasters warning of life-threatening rainfall and flooding even as it weakened to a Category 2 storm.