Trump says Hurricane Dorian evacuations up to Florida for now

Donald Trump said evacuations in Florida are up to localities — for now — as the Sunshine State braces for Hurricane Dorian. The president is spending much of the weekend at Camp David in Maryland preparing for the storm, before returning to Washington, D.C. for a meeting with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Sunday afternoon.

That’s when “a lot of decisions will be made” because more will be known about where exactly the storm will hit. 

“We’re thinking about Florida evacuation, but it’s a little bit too soon,” the president said, adding that more decisions would likely come Sunday on that front. 

Hurricane Dorian, currently a Category 3, is expected to reach Category 4 when it makes landfall. It’s on track to affect the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Florida. Mr. Trump told reporters Friday afternoon that it “looks like Mar-a-Lago is dead center” but “Mar-a-Lago can handle itself.” He said he was worried about the whole state of Florida.

Mr. Trump canceled a scheduled weekend trip to Poland to deal with the hurricane.

The president said “tremendous work” is going on to prepare for the storm, which he called one of the biggest ever seen by places Hurricane Dorian may impact. A number of top Trump administration officials are accompanying him to Camp David, including Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham and Peter Brown, Homeland Security and counterterrorism adviser.

The National Weather Service said Dorian could bring a “triple-threat of dangers” to Florida, including a “life-threatening storm surge, devastating hurricane-force winds and heavy rains.” The center urged Floridians to “prepare NOW.”