About 1.5 million were ordered to leave their homes and more than 5.4 million were issued storm warnings on the US East Coast as Hurricane Florence builds in the Atlantic.
Expected to be the worst storm in 30 years, it is likely to make landfall in North or South Carolina in the next two days.
US President Donald Trump has already signed emergency declarations to free up federal funds for the response.
Al Jazeera’s Patty Culhane has more.
