MADRID, 1 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, declared this Saturday a federal state of emergency in North Carolina before the arrival of Cyclone 'Ian', which has already wreaked havoc in Cuba and Florida, where it has left at least 45 dead.
The president's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the powers to coordinate all relief efforts in the state.
The weather phenomenon, which made landfall in Florida last Wednesday as a category four hurricane, has brought with it a combination of strong winds, rain and storm surge.
'Ian' is now passing through South Carolina as a tropical cyclone but it is feared that it could gain strength in the next few hours and reach North Carolina again as a hurricane.
Biden has assured that 'Ian' could have become the "deadliest" hurricane in the history of the state of Florida, which has already been declared a catastrophic area.