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Hurricane Dorian Affecting Travel Plans to Florida

As Hurricane Dorian hurled toward the Florida coastline Friday, several people rearranged their travel plans, deciding to fly home to the Sunshine State before the powerful storm makes landfall.

The storm was upgraded to a Category 4 as it headed toward Florida. Forecasts indicate heavy rain and the potential for life-threatening flash floods.

"I came up here from Yulee [Florida] for a week to see my buddy in Boston," said Ray VanTassell. "I said, 'I better cancel my flight for Sunday.'"

VanTassell wasn't alone.

"There's really not much you can do," said David Canny, who lives near Orlando and bumped up his flight by a day. "You just prepare and hope for the best."

"We had plans to go to Disney World this weekend, and unfortunately, with the hurricane coming, we rescheduled our trip," said Scott Collard of Rhode Island. "Now, we're going to Philly."

While delays at Logan Airport on Saturday were kept to a minimum, some travelers are heading toward the storm hoping to prepare.

"We don’t know where it’s going. There’s no telling," said Don Darby, a Georgia resident who also has a family vacation home in Florida.

"We just tied everything down. Our boats. Cheers. Lounge stuff. Out on our deck so hopefully everything will be back down but with the hurricane this size, you never know the damage."

The American Red Cross also plans to send volunteers and workers to Florida to help staff shelters.

"We're getting ready to help, you know, tens of thousands of people," said Holly Grant, one of the non-profit's regional executives. "In big hurricanes like this, what we do is we send, you know, people down to kind of stand at emergency shelters."

Orlando International Airport announced on Friday that it plans to shut down commercial flight operations at 2 a.m. on Monday.

Don Darby is worried that his family vacation home in Palatka, Florida may not make it through the store.

“We just tied everything down. Our boats. Chairs. Lounge stuff. Out on our deck so hopefully everything will be back down but with the hurricane this size, you never know the damage.”

Dorian threatens to put a damper on Labor Day weekend for people up and down the East Coast, including folks traveling in and out of Logan Airport to Florida or places in Dorian’s path.

The Red Cross is preparing to help tens of thousands of people, sending volunteers and workers to staff shelters.

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