AKIPRESS.COM - A powerful storm that is threatening Florida and the Bahamas has strengthened to category four, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) says.

Hurricane Dorian has maximum sustained winds of nearly 130mph (215km/h), BBC reports.

It is expected to grow even stronger as it passes the north-west Bahamas before making landfall in Florida early next week.

Reports from the Bahamas described tourists scrambling to leave before the closure of the international airport.

A state of emergency has been declared in Florida, where residents have been urged to stock enough food, water and medicine to last at least a week.

Forecasters warn Dorian could be the state's worst storm since category five Hurricane Andrew killed 65 people and destroyed 63,000 homes in 1992.