U.S. businesses help out with Dorian prep

Businesses and nonprofit organizations in the southeastern United States are gearing up to mitigate the possible devastation of Hurricane Dorian. Airbnb launched an Open Homes Program to provide free housing for displaced residents and relief workers. More than 1,200 hosts in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas have signed up. Samaritan’s Purse has deployed volunteers to the Bahamas and is ready to respond to potential disaster sites stateside. And Waffle House has “jump teams” prepped to get its restaurants up and running quickly after the storm.

When will Dorian hit the United States? The hurricane, now downgraded to a Category 2, is expected to turn north from the Bahamas on Tuesday. But it is moving at only 1 mph and might not get close to the United States until late Wednesday. In the meantime, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina have issued evacuation warnings for vulnerable parts of the coastline. Airlines have canceled more than 90 percent of the flights in and out of the airport in Orlando, Fla., according to Flight Aware.

Dig deeper: Read USA Today’s report on how relief teams use a “Waffle House Index” to gauge how hard the storm has hit a particular area.