Hurricane Floyd, one of the most powerful storms recorded in the Atlantic, hit the Bahamas yesterday and is expected to reach the south-eastern United States later today.
More than two million residents of Florida's Atlantic coast, from north of Miami to Cape Canaveral, have been ordered to evacuate their homes. Thousands of cars jammed Florida's main inland highways yesterday as Floridians moved inland.
"It's not the winds. I'm worried about the tidal surge. I hope my house will hold," said Mr Dan Downer (74), whose house is at Cocoa Beach, close to Kennedy Space Centre.
The Governor, Mr Jeb Bush, declared a state of emergency and put the National Guard on alert.
"We encourage people to make sure that everyone around them is prepared for this storm," he said.
President Clinton has declared Florida and Georgia federal disaster areas and has decided to cut his overseas trip short because of the storm's approach, the White House said yesterday.
Airlines have cancelled flights in and out of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach airports.
The storm, with winds of 150 m.p.h. passed over the Bahamas early yesterday. The capital Nassau, 80 miles from the centre of the storm, experienced 80 m.p.h. winds and power failures were widespread in the northern and central islands. Forecasters said storm surges of up to 20 feet above normal were expected.
The storm system was about as wide as the 600-mile wide Florida peninsula and as strong as 1992's Hurricane Andrew, the benchmark hurricane that killed more than 40 people and caused $25 billion of damage in the Miami area.
From Miami Beach to Jacksonville, ocean-front hotels and condominiums emptied and streets were deserted as tourists and residents moved inland, seeking refuge with family and friends or in public shelters.
At the Kennedy Space Centre, there were fears for the four US space shuttles, valued at $2 billion each, which are housed in hangars built to withstand winds of up to 125 m.p.h.
An estimated 600 Irish people are holidaying in Florida at present. Most are on package tours organised by Falcon/JWT and Budget.
A spokeswoman for JWT said a scheduled flight tomorrow from Dublin to Sanford Airport, about three hour's drive from Miami, would proceed. "Everything is going ahead as normal although we are constantly monitoring the situation," she said.
Budget is due to fly a group of holiday-makers from Dublin to Florida on Sunday when the worst of the storm is expected to have passed.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said it had been in contact with the Irish consulates in New York and Florida and was monitoring the situation. It has not recommended against going to the area but said "people intending to travel should stay in touch with their airline and travel agents".