The Latest: Gov. Kemp ordered evacuation because of islands

The Latest on Hurricane Dorian (all times local):

8:25 a.m.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he ordered evacuations along the length of his state’s coast, which includes several low-lying islands, because if there is flooding on causeways, they won’t be able to get vehicles on or off the islands.

Kemp told Fox News Channel’s “Fox and Friends” on Tuesday morning that he’s expecting Hurricane Dorian to batter Georgia with heavy winds, severe flooding, a storm surge and beach erosion.

He said a reverse traffic or “contraflow” on Interstate 16 begins Tuesday morning.

The Category 3 storm has been battering the Bahamas, causing extensive damage and flooding.

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8:05 a.m.

Hurricane Dorian is beginning to inch northwestward after being stationary over the Bahamas, where its relentless winds have caused catastrophic damage and flooding.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the storm has started moving about 1 mph (2 kph) Tuesday morning and its speed is expected to increase slightly later in the day.

Dorian’s maximum sustained winds remain near 120 mph (195 kph), making it a major Category 3 hurricane.

The storm is centered about 40 miles (70 kilometers) northeast of Freeport in the Bahamas.

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2 a.m.

Dorian has weakened to a Category 3 hurricane but continues to batter the Bahamas as it remains almost at a standstill.

At 2:00 a.m. EDT Tuesday, the ferocious storm’s center was about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Freeport Grand Bahama Island. It has barely budged from that position since Monday afternoon.

But its wind speeds lessened slightly to 120 mph (193 kph) with higher gusts. That was down from 130 mph (209 kph) Monday evening.

The hurricane is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of West Palm Beach, Florida.

The National Hurricane center said Dorian is expected to move “dangerously close” to the Florida east coast late Tuesday through Wednesday evening and then move north to coastal Georgia and South Carolina on Wednesday night and Thursday.

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For AP’s complete coverage of the hurricane: https://apnews.com/Hurricanes .

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