Tropical Storm Hermine has strengthened into a hurricane, threatening to bring a dangerous storm surge to Florida. Hermine is expected to make landfall on the northern Florida Gulf Coast early on Friday - the first hurricane to hit the state since 2005. 

Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for 51 counties as residents were braced for the dangerous storm. Wind gusts reached 80mph (130kmph) on Thursday, the BBC quoted National Hurricane Center (NHC) as saying.  "This is life threatening. We have not had a hurricane in years," Governor Scott said. 

He added that 8,000 members of the Florida National Guard were prepared to be deployed in the wake of the storm. Scott ordered evacuations in five counties in Florida's north-west and called for voluntary evacuations in three other coastal counties, the BBC reported. 

Source : QNA