Hurricane Dorian prompts evacuation orders as Florida braces for storm
Coastal communities from South Florida through the Carolinas are preparing for the worst as Hurricane Dorian approaches. Mandatory evacuation orders will be in effect later Monday in more than a dozen counties across three states, nine of them in Florida alone. Seven other counties there are under voluntary evacuation orders.
In St. Augustine, Florida, 40 miles southeast of Jacksonville, Joe Colsant packed up what he can't live without: the contents of his safe, and his family of four. Everyone in Saint Augustine is under a mandatory evacuation order beginning Monday.
"We go depending on the storm. Sometimes we stay, but this one is definitely get out of here," Colsant said.
Health First Cape Canaveral Hospital was taking no chances. Dozens of patients, hurting and vulnerable, were moved inland and away from Dorian's menace.
"If you are ordered to evacuate, safety comes first, and you don't want to mess with a storm that is at going 185 miles per hour," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said.
Forrest and Greg Goldstein, who run a juice bar business, told CBS News that Labor Day tourism in the area took a hit because of the storm. They say their business was down by at least 50%.
"It's not what we expected," Greg Goldstein said. "The streets are literally empty."
Those empty streets may have hurt the area financially, but they helped St. Augustine Beach Police Chief Rob Hardwick. He has fewer people to worry about.
"I just don't want to be complacent because one shift in a few degrees and it's on top of us," Hardwick said.
Airport closures are another element of preparations in Florida as Dorian approaches the coast. Palm Beach International Airport is already closed. And both Orlando Melbourne International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport are planning to close by noon.
