Boeing Suspends Operations At S.Carolina Plant Amid Hurricane Florence Threat - Spokesman

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th September, 2018) Boeing has suspended all operations at its plant in the US state of South Carolina as Hurricane Florence threatens the region, company spokesperson Paul Bergman told Sputnik.

"Due to possible impacts from Hurricane Florence, an evacuation order has been issued for several coastal South Carolina, including Charleston, Dorchester and Berkeley counties, beginning at noon Tuesday, September 11," Bergman said on Tuesday. "In line with that order, Boeing has suspended operations at Boeing South Carolina so our teammates can properly evacuate."

Bergman added that operations will resume when it is safe to do so, but noted that the company is relocating some 787 aircraft from Charleston to their facility in Everett, Washington.

Earlier on Tuesday, the National Weather Service said Hurricane Florence had slightly weakened, but is expected to regain its strength later in the day.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered in the states of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

Those states, along with Maryland and the District of Columbia, have all declared a state of emergency in order to mobilize resources in advance of the storm.

Florence is expected to make landfall somewhere along the southeastern United States, likely near the border between the Carolinas, early on Friday.