usa now Hurricane Florence bears down on US east coast: 1.7 million told to flee - follow path of 'monster' storm

monster hurricane is bearing down on the US east coast with officials warning it would hit with a "punch like Mike Tyson".Residents in the states of North Carolina and South Carolina were running out of time to evacuate as Hurricane Florence looked set to make landfall as soon as late Thursday, bringing potentially deadly flooding.

In a videotaped message from the White House, Donald Trump said the government was fully prepared but urged people to "get out of its way".

The US president added: "Don't play games with it. It's a big one."

People line up to enter a hurricane shelter at Trask Middle School in North Carolina

People line up to enter a hurricane shelter at Trask Middle School in North Carolina Credit: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS /AFP

A total of 1.7 million people in North and South Carolina, and Virginia, were under warnings to evacuate the coast.

Cars and trucks full of people and belongings streamed inland.

Jeff Byard of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency said: "This is not going to be a glancing blow. This is going to be a Mike Tyson punch to the Carolina coast. Heed the warnings."

Forecasts showed the storm lingering near the coast of the Carolinas, carrying days of heavy rain that could bring intense inland flooding.

Parts of North Carolina could get 40 inches of rain.The hurricane was packing winds of 130 mph and waves 83 feet high have been measured near the eye.

Brian McNoldy, a University of Miami hurricane researcher, said the hurricane was going to be "exceptionally bad news".He said its effects, including a huge storm surge, would be spread out over hundreds of miles of coastline