US East Coast residents are running out of time to flee before Hurricane Florence hits the region as soon as Thursday evening, officials warn.

The storm has been downgraded to category three with 125mph (205km/h) winds, but officials say it is still “extremely dangerous”.

Up to 1.7 million people have been ordered to evacuate across South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.

Four South Carolina motorways have been diverted one-way to speed the exodus.

On Wednesday, Georgia declared a state of emergency, following the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC.