Hurricane Dorian quickens pace "dangerously close" to Florida

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Hurricane Dorian grew in size and moved faster on Tuesday as forecasters warned it would come "dangerously close" to Florida's east coast.

Dorian - which over the weekend had been one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record - devastated the Bahamas with severe flooding, resulting in numerous deaths and untold damage to homes and businesses across the stretch of islands.

The storm, though downgraded to a Category 2 with maximum sustained winds of 110 miles per hour, hovered over the Bahamas for a third day.

Hubert Minnis is prime minister of The Bahamas.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) HUBERT MINNIS, PRIME MINISTER, THE BAHAMAS, SAYING:

"We are in the midst of a historic tragedy in parts of northern Bahamas. Our mission and focus now is search, rescue and recovery."

The storm is now 100 miles away from West Palm Beach, Florida.

Along the state's coast, residents have been ordered to evacuate, with officials and residents still unsure of what's to come in the next days.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) FLORIDA GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS, SAYING:

"This is gonna be riding Florida's coast for the next day, and a half. There will be some effects in the state of Florida. There will be storm surge, there will be some flooding, you may see wind damage depending on how close this gets to the state of Florida."

But some Floridians seem unfazed that a hurricane is looming pretty close.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) SCOTT RENFREE, FLORIDA RESIDENT, SAYING:

"We were really geared up for the worst of the worst, you know. It went from being at a really elevated kind of antsy scared moment to being able to relax a little more but at the same time wanting it to go through so we can get back to our normal lives."

How soon that will happen is still unknown. Dorian's impact will soon be felt from Florida up to the Carolinas, sparking this warning from the governor of South Carolina.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR HENRY MCMASTER, SAYING:

"If you are in the evacuation zones in the 8 counties mentioned earlier along the coast, the time to leave is now."

Along the East Coast, more than a million residents are under a mandatory evacuation until Dorian's threat finally fades.