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Hurricane Dorian remains powerful Category 4 storm; Georgia still at risk

By Severe Weather Team 2
By Severe Weather Team 2

ATLANTA — Hurricane Dorian remained a powerful Category 4 storm Saturday as it churned towards the southeast coast.

As of 11 p.m., Dorian had maximum sustained winds of 150 mph and was moving west at 8 mph.

Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Katie Walls said the storm still poses a threat to Georgia. The main concerns will be coastal flooding, heavy rainfall, rip currents and dangerous surf through Wednesday of next week:

"At the very least, the southeast coast will experience coastal flooding and beach erosion," Walls said. "The closer to shore the storm is, the worse the impacts."

We're using the most powerful weather technology to bring you the latest on Dorian's track on Channel 2 Action News

Channel 2's Aaron Diamant was at the FEMA distribution center in southeast Atlanta, where 200 trucks packed full of supplies are headed to staging areas ahead of the hurricane.

Diamant talked to Manager Leonard Johnson, who showed Channel 2 Action News around the 400+ thousand-foot warehouse kept stocked with food, water, sheeting, tarps, cots and blankets.

“We’re talking about life and sustaining life and trying to maintain some degree of quality of life for the survivors," Johnson said. "The quicker we can get the product there, the better off these survivors are going to be able to maintain some sort of normalcy to a bad situation."

FEMA Acting Response Division Director Glen Sachtleben said that even though Dorian's track is still unclear, he feels confident supplies will get where they need to go.

"If we've done our job correctly and pre-positioned it correctly, they can have something to go to and that equates saving lives," Sachtleben said.

[DOWNLOAD: WSB-TV's Weather App for alerts on the tropical storm]

There is a Hurricane Warning for:

  • Northwestern Bahamas excluding Andros Island

There is a Hurricane Watch for:

  • Andros Island

There is a Tropical Storm Watch for:

  • Parts of eastern Florida

Some fluctuations in intensity are likely, but Dorian is expected to remain a powerful hurricane during the next few days.

[READ: How does a hurricane form?]

On Thursday, Gov. Brian Kemp issued a State of Emergency for several Georgia counties along the coast including Brantley, Bryan, Camden, Charlton, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Pierce and Wayne.

Kemp said he spoke with President Donald Trump on Friday, who offered his support ahead of the storm.

Cox Media Group

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