Ahead of the anticipated Hurricane Dorian, which made landfall in the Bahamas late Sunday, President Donald Trump told reporters at the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C. that he has never heard of a Category 5 storm.
“We don’t even know what’s coming at us. All we know is it’s possibly the biggest. I’m not sure that I’ve ever even heard of a Category 5. I knew it existed,” the President said.
“And I’ve seen some Category 4s. You don’t even see them that much, but a Category 5 is something that I don’t know that I’ve ever even heard the term other than I know it’s there,” Trump continued.
Despite the President’s comments, CNN reports that Hurricane Dorian is, in fact, the fourth Category 5 storm to hit a U.S. territory during Trump’s tenure. Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Michael were likewise labeled Category 5.
About two years ago, President Trump made similar comments after Hurricane Irma made landfall, saying at the time that he didn’t even know “a Category 5 existed.” In October that same year, Trump maintained that “nobody has ever heard of a (Category) 5 hitting land.”
CNN writes that Hurricane Dorian is currently the strongest to have hit anywhere in the world this year and is expected to thrash the region through much of the day today, before reaching the eastern coast of Florida late Monday.
The Trump administration approved an emergency declaration for the U.S. Virgin Islands earlier this week before Hurricane Dorian made landfall and the President has vowed to provide federal aid to state and local officials to deal with Hurricane Dorian.
Scientists predict that these severe storms will become even more common in the future, partially due to climate changes and the rising sea levels caused by global warming, making Atlantic hurricanes even harsher.
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