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Hurricane Earl Closing In On US East Coast

   VOA News 02 September 2010
   This  image  provided  by  NASA  shows  Hurricane Earl as of Wednesday
   night. Earl was a powerful Category 4 hurricane centered more than 520
   miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., with winds of 140 mph, 2
   Sept 2010

Photo: AP

   This  image  provided  by  NASA  shows  Hurricane Earl as of Wednesday
   night. Earl was a powerful Category 4 hurricane centered more than 520
   miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., with winds of 140 mph, 2
   Sept 2010

   The  category  four  storm  is  on  course  to lash the coast of North
   Carolina  late  Thursday,  before shifting to the north. Hurricane and
   tropical   storm   warnings  and  watches  are  in  effect  along  the
   Mid-Atlantic coast and as far north as Massachusetts.
   Forecasters  at  the National Hurricane Center in Miami are warning of
   heavy rains and damaging winds from the storm, which now has sustained
   winds of 230 kilometers per hour.
   Forecasters say a dangerous storm surge could raise water levels along
   the coast as much as 1.5 meters.
   The  governors  of North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland have declared
   states of emergency.
   President Barack Obama has also declared a state of emergency in North
   Carolina,  allowing  the  federal  government  to  coordinate disaster
   relief efforts there.
   Earl  has  already  skirted  parts  of the eastern Caribbean, flooding
   parts of Antigua and ripping out trees and blowing down power lines on
   St.  Martin.  Officials in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico say
   they  are  working  to restore electricity to more than 200,000 people
   who were affected by the storm.
   Forecasters  are also watching Tropical Storm Fiona, which is expected
   to pass near Bermuda by early Saturday.
   A  third  system,  Tropical Storm Gaston, is moving slowly towards the
   Lesser  Antilles and it not expected to impact any land until at least
   the middle of next week.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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