Miami is removing all e-scooters ahead of Hurricane Dorian's landfall so they don't become flying projectiles
- Scooter companies have been ordered to remove their vehicles from Miami streets ahead of Hurricane Dorian's landfall this weekend.
- Uber, Lyft, Lime, Bird and others have shut down their micromobility services in order to avoid having scooters become flying projectiles.
- Dorian became a Category 2 storm overnight into Friday morning. By the time it makes landfall in the US, forecasters believe it could have intensified further to Category 4.
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Don't expect to evacuate Miami on an electric scooter ahead of Hurricane Dorian's impending landfall this weekend.
The city is working with companies including Lime, Bird, Uber, Lyft and any others to ensure the micromobility vehicles don't become flying projectiles in the storms' expected 130-mile per hour winds. Bloomberg first reported on the preparations.
"All scooters will be removed from City of Miami streets by Friday," a local commissioner tweeted. "Winds expected to increase on Saturday evening."
Lime has experience with storms, having ridden out Hurricane Irma in 2017, The Verge reported. Uber's Jump subsidiary, on the other hand, will be going through its first major weather event.
Dorian became a Category 2 storm overnight into Friday morning. By the time it makes landfall in the US, forecasters believe it could have intensified further to Category 4.
The storm has proved unusually difficult to predict, and experts believe it could hit at almost any point along the 400-mile eastern coast of Florida, or could even hit Georgia.
A forecast from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) Thursday night forecast that Dorian's wind speeds at landfall could spike as high as 167 mph (269 kmph), with sustained winds of 138 mph (222 kmph).
Florida governor Ron DeSantis said on Thursday that he had declared a state of emergency across the entire state because the hurricane's path is so unclear.
"Due to #Dorian's uncertain path, I am expanding the state of emergency to include all 67 counties throughout Florida. All residents, especially those along the east coast, need to be prepared for possible impacts," he tweeted.
Read more:
- Hurricane Dorian is now a Category 1 storm, hitting the US Virgin Islands. The hurricane could reach Florida on Monday.
- Hurricane Dorian is moving toward Puerto Rico and Florida. Here's why storms are getting stronger, slower, and wetter.