Hurricane imperils Carolinas

Hurricane Dorian picked up speed Thursday, slamming into the Carolinas and pelting the state with rain amid surging storm waters.

At 8 pm EDT, the Category 2 hurricane was 35 miles southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina, moving northeast at 10 mph while throwing off slightly diminished winds of 100 mph.

Dorian, moving faster than it had in previous days, was barreling toward Wilmington, North Carolina, a city that was slammed by Hurricane Florence almost one year ago.

Dorian has claimed 23 lives in the Bahamas, the first populous area it struck, while severely damaging the islands nation.

Four people have died in Florida and North Carolina, while trimming trees or preparing homes ahead of the storm.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicted that Dorian will pass near or over North Carolina's Outer Banks, a popular vacation spot, on Friday.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper warned residents: "Get to safety and stay there. ... This won't be a brush-by. Whether it comes ashore or not, the eye of the storm will be close enough to cause extensive damage in North Carolina."

"I think we're in for a big mess," Leslie Lanier, 61, a business owner in the Outer Banks, told The Associated Press.

In Emerald Isle, North Carolina, dozens of camper vans were overturned by a tornado. No injuries were reported.

Earlier Thursday, in the historic port city of Charleston, South Carolina, rain battered houses, 150 trees were uprooted, and more than two dozen blocks were closed as floodwaters forecast as high as 8 feet swirled around streets. Officials said more than 100 roads were closed. 

At least 222,000 homes and businesses were without power in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. In South Carolina alone the figure was 215,000, where at least 830,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders.

At least 200 animals in shelters were airlifted out of the danger zone in South Carolina and taken to Delaware on Tuesday. Another 150 were being transported by road, according to The News Journal of Wilmington, Delaware.

Florida's US senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott urged President Donald Trump to waive visa requirements for Bahamians who want to stay with family in America.

The death toll in Bahamas is expected to rise substantially.

"Let me say that I believe the number will be staggering," Bahamas Health Minister Duane Sands was quoted by The Nassau Guardian as telling Guardian radio. "I have never lived through anything like this, and I don't want to live through anything like this again."

Sands said he has asked for help from the World Health Organization and others. The United Nations has estimated more than 76,000 people were in need of humanitarian relief after the most damaging storm ever to hit the island nation.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Thursday it was organizing an airlift from Panama of storage units, generators and prefab offices for two logistics hubs, as well as satellite equipment for emergency responders, and has bought 8 metric tonnes of ready-to-eat meals.

A flight from the US Agency for International Development landed early on Thursday with enough relief supplies to help 31,500 people, bringing hygiene kits, water containers and buckets, plastic sheeting and chain saws.

Also arriving was a disaster assistance response team (DART) plane that included a fire and rescue team to help in the search for survivors, USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance said on Twitter.

Total insured and uninsured losses in the Bahamas amounted to $7 billion, including buildings and business interruptions, according to a preliminary estimate by Karen Clark & Co, a consultancy that provides catastrophic modeling and risk management services.

Heng Weili in New York and Reuters contributed to this story.