Hurricane (illustration)
Hurricane (illustration)iStock

Hurricane Florence strengthened to a Category 4 storm Monday as it made its way towards the Carolina coast.

The powerful storm has maximum sustained winds of about 130 mph, and is expected to intensify even further before making landfall on Thursday night.

The storm is expected to make landfall along the border between North and South Carolina.

The Governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam, has ordered more than a million people living near the coast to evacuate their homes. Northam added that the storm is expected to affect the entire state and called on all residents to prepare for it.

In addition, US President Donald Trump urged residents to be careful and listen to the orders of the security forces. "My people just informed me that this is one of the worst storms to hit the East Coast in many years. Also, looking like a direct hit on North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Please be prepared, be careful and be SAFE!" he tweeted.