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One of the most powerful storms in US history has barrelled into Florida’s southwest coast with sustained winds of up to 150mph (241kph) and torrential rain.

Hurricane Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa as an “extremely dangerous” category four storm but was close to being the maximum level of five (when there are winds of at least 157mph/252kph).

‘This storm is bigger than Florida’ – Hurricane Ian latest

Hurricane Ian making landfall near Cayo Costa in southwest Florida. Pic: AP/NOAA
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Hurricane Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa in southwest Florida. Pic: AP/NOAA

The storm surge, which has likely peaked, was as high as 12ft (3.6 metres) above ground level in some areas, and “life-threatening” flooding was predicted.

Ian was expected to dump 12-18in (30-45cm) of rain across a broad area including Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville in the state’s northeast corner.

The town of Fort Myers Beach was almost submerged by floodwaters, and some homes could be seen floating downstream, along with cars.

US President Joe Biden said Ian is incredibly dangerous, and he urged residents to obey all warnings related to the storm.

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More than two million people were under evacuation orders.

Cayo Costa is about 90 miles (145 km) south of Tampa and just west of Fort Myers.

The landfall zone has miles of sandy beaches, scores of resort hotels and numerous mobile home parks.

Even as Ian lashed the coast in the final hours before it swept ashore, authorities put residents on notice that it was too late for anyone who had yet to evacuate to safely do so.

As the storm heads inland, it is expected to weaken, but residents in central Florida could still experience hurricane-force winds.

People were told to treat the winds as if a tornado was approaching by moving to an “interior room now”.

Over a million impacted by power cuts

More than one million homes and businesses were without electricity.

Meanwhile, 20 people were feared missing off the Florida coast after a Cuban migrant boat sank due to the hurricane. Four migrants swam to shore in the Florida Keys, and three others were rescued.

‘Life-threatening, catastrophic flooding’

The tropical storm conditions began in the southern state on Wednesday morning local time and the severe conditions were expected to continue overnight.

Heavy rainfall will spread across the peninsula throughout Thursday and reach parts of the southeastern US later this week and over the weekend.

About two-thirds of Florida is in the peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said: “Widespread, life-threatening catastrophic flooding is expected across portions of central Florida with considerable flooding in southern Florida, northern Florida, southeastern Georgia and coastal South Carolina.

“Widespread, prolonged moderate to major river flooding expected across central Florida.”

Hurricane Ian
Image:
Hurricane Ian’s predicted path over the coming days

‘A nasty, nasty two days’

Mr Biden said he had spoken to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday about Ian, adding that the federal government had met every request for help from the coastal state.

“This is going to be a nasty day, two days,” Mr DeSantis said. “Probably, we think now, it will be exiting the peninsula sometime on Thursday.”

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Hurricane Ian tears across Cuba
Hurricane Ian leaves millions in Cuba without electricity

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Hurricane brings storms to Florida

Cuba working to restore power

Meanwhile, Cuban officials said they have begun to restore some power after Ian knocked out electricity to the entire island while devastating some of the country’s most important tobacco farms.

Ian hit the island’s western tip as a major storm.

It made landfall there on Tuesday as a category three storm, causing flooding, as houses were damaged and trees toppled in the strong winds.

Tens of thousands of people were evacuated and others fled the area ahead of its arrival.

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This family’s terrifying journey across the Channel wasn’t their first choice – it was their last hope

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This family's terrifying journey across the Channel wasn't their first choice - it was their last hope

In a hostel in northern France, the atmosphere was tense.

A father and his family were waiting for a call, a sign sea conditions were right and it is finally time to go.

After fleeing from Kurdistan, they’ve paid around €8000 (£6,850) to cross the Channel on a dinghy provided by smugglers who value money over life.

“We don’t have any other option except this dinghy. The surveillance for the trucks [crossing the Channel] is very strong and that is why we have to take this journey. We will either die or succeed,” Mohammed said ahead of the journey.

The family now await to hear their fate in the UK
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The family now await to hear their fate in the UK

To tell their story safely, all the family’s names have been changed.

The UK wasn’t their destination of choice; for years Germany was their home but then, after a failed asylum bid and threatened with deportation last month, they ran.

If they stayed, Mohammed says they would have been sent back home where he fears he could be killed.

But after years of making friends and plans, overnight his family’s lives changed.

His teenage daughter Sara says when she was told they were leaving at first she didn’t believe it.

“I was like, no, this is going to be a bad joke,” she explains, “Then the day we left, I looked at my friends… they didn’t know that I was leaving and we will never see each other again.”

Despite promises by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to “stop the boats”, a record numbers of migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year.

Last week the family was among them, cramming into a rickety vessel with around 60 others.

“It was a difficult and dangerous journey that no one was expecting to survive. We were all thinking that our lives would end in a matter of seconds,” Mohammed says.

The boat left a French beach near Dunkirk at 10pm.

After around an hour into the journey they ran out of fuel and then drifted for hours.

The conditions meant children were screaming and crying.

Many onboard were being sick and everyone was soaked with freezing water.

When the French coastguard arrived, 25 people asked to be rescued but the other 36 refused, determined to keep pushing ahead.

Desperate to reach UK waters, they paddled with their hands and then used the dregs of the fuel to give them one last boost until they were picked up by the UK coastguard.

Read more:
Children among migrants rescued in Channel
More than 500 migrants cross Channel in one day

Migrants boat in The Channel
Image:
A migrant boat seen crossing the Channel earlier this year

After hours of being “scared to die”, Sara said the relief was overwhelming.

They’re now waiting to hear their fate in temporary accommodation in the UK after applying for asylum.

Like many other asylum seekers I’ve spoken to, fresh threats of deportation or being sent to Rwanda weren’t a deterrent.

“What will stop people coming on that route?” I ask Mohammed.

“You can’t stop it. This is smuggling and it will continue,” he replies.

The family hopes they can stay but it isn’t guaranteed. While the UK wasn’t their first choice, they say it’s their last hope.

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Baltimore bridge collapse: Audio of first responder call emerges – ‘the whole bridge just fell down’

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Baltimore bridge collapse: Audio of first responder call emerges - 'the whole bridge just fell down'

Audio has emerged of a first responder call as officials halted traffic on both sides of the Francis Scott Key Bridge moments before it collapsed.

The cargo ship had issued a mayday call to alert authorities it had lost power before it collided with the Baltimore bridge on Tuesday morning.

Following the call, Maryland Transportation Authority Police Dispatch and Response officials acted swiftly, shutting down the north and south sides of the bridge.

Read more:
Everything we know about the disaster
First missing worker named

In the audio, one official instructs: “Hold all traffic on the Key Bridge… There’s a ship approaching that just lost their steering so until we get that under control, we’ve got to stop all traffic.

“Make sure no one’s on the bridge right now. There’s a crew up there… You might want to notify the foreman to see if we can get them off the bridge temporarily.”

Another responds saying he would “grab the workers” but it was too late.

A second later, a voice is heard saying: “The whole bridge just fell down. Start, start whoever… everybody. The whole bridge just collapsed.”

In other developments, investigators at the National Safety Transportation Board have confirmed that the cargo ship’s data recorder has now been recovered – and they are examining whether contaminated fuel played a role in the crash.

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New angle shows moment bridge hit

The Dali ship ploughed into one of the bridge’s supports and, in an instant, the 1.6-mile-long structure had fallen into the Patapsco River, along with vehicles and workers who were on it at the time.

Six workers missing after the collapse are presumed dead, the executive vice president of Brawner Builders has confirmed.

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Officials say the rescue mission for the group has now become a recovery operation.

It comes as Miguel Luna, from El Salvador, was named as one of the six people on the Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed.

All 22 crew members on board the ship, including the two pilots, have been accounted for and there were no reports of injuries.

This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a view of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that was struck by a container ship in Baltimore, Md., on Tuesday, March 26, 2024.  The container ship lost power and rammed into the major bridge causing the span to buckle into the river below. (Maxaar Technologies via AP)
Image:
A satellite image of the incident. Pic: AP

Maryland Governor Wes Moore said he spoke to the families of the victims, assuring them since the mission had transitioned from search and rescue to recovery he would “put every possible resource to bring [them] a sense of closure”.

He praised the “true heroism” of the first responders who “saved countless lives that night”.

Mr Moore also said he was “overwhelmed” by the amount of support from both the Democratic and Republican parties as he stressed the importance of getting the bridge rebuilt.

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‘True accountability’ for Baltimore bridge collapse

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has promised that he will visit Baltimore “as soon as possible”, adding that the federal government will cover the “full cost” of rebuilding the bridge – which experts say could be over $600m (£474m).

He told reporters: “Everything so far indicates that this was a terrible accident. At this time we have no other indication, no other reason to believe there’s any intentional act here.

“Personnel on board the ship were able to alert the Maryland Department of Transportation that they had lost control of their vessel.”

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Timeline of Baltimore bridge collapse

Mr Biden added that this meant local authorities were able to close the bridge before it was struck, which “undoubtedly saved lives”.

He continued: “Our prayers are with everyone involved in this terrible accident and all the families [affected], especially those waiting for news of their loved one right now. I know every minute in that circumstance feels like a lifetime.”

The Key Bridge carries the Interstate 695 highway over the Patapsco River southeast of the Baltimore metropolitan area.

Its main section spans 1,200 feet and was one of the longest continuous truss bridges in the world upon its completion, according to the National Steel Bridge Alliance.

The Dali was previously involved in a minor incident when it hit a quay at the Port of Antwerp in Belgium in 2016, where it was damaged, according to Vessel Finder and maritime accident site Shipwrecklog.

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Baltimore bridge collapse: Audio of first responder call emerges – ‘the whole bridge just fell down’

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Audio has emerged of a first responder call as officials halted traffic on both sides of the Francis Scott Key Bridge moments before it collapsed.

The cargo ship had issued a mayday call to alert authorities it had lost power before it collided with the Baltimore bridge on Tuesday morning.

Following the call, Maryland Transportation Authority Police Dispatch and Response officials acted swiftly, shutting down the north and south sides of the bridge.

Read more:
Everything we know about the disaster
First missing worker named

In the audio, one official instructs: “Hold all traffic on the Key Bridge… There’s a ship approaching that just lost their steering so until we get that under control, we’ve got to stop all traffic.

“Make sure no one’s on the bridge right now. There’s a crew up there… You might want to notify the foreman to see if we can get them off the bridge temporarily.”

Another responds saying he would “grab the workers” but it was too late.

A second later, a voice is heard saying: “The whole bridge just fell down. Start, start whoever… everybody. The whole bridge just collapsed.”

In other developments, investigators at the National Safety Transportation Board have confirmed that the cargo ship’s data recorder has now been recovered – and they are examining whether contaminated fuel played a role in the crash.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

New angle shows moment bridge hit

The Dali ship ploughed into one of the bridge’s supports and, in an instant, the 1.6-mile-long structure had fallen into the Patapsco River, along with vehicles and workers who were on it at the time.

Six workers missing after the collapse are presumed dead, the executive vice president of Brawner Builders has confirmed.

Officials say the rescue mission for the group has now become a recovery operation.

It comes as Miguel Luna, from El Salvador, was named as one of the six people on the Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed.

All 22 crew members on board the ship, including the two pilots, have been accounted for and there were no reports of injuries.

This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a view of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that was struck by a container ship in Baltimore, Md., on Tuesday, March 26, 2024.  The container ship lost power and rammed into the major bridge causing the span to buckle into the river below. (Maxaar Technologies via AP)
Image:
A satellite image of the incident. Pic: AP

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has promised that he will visit Baltimore “as soon as possible”, adding that the federal government will cover the “full cost” of rebuilding the bridge – which experts say could be over $600m (£474m).

He told reporters: “Everything so far indicates that this was a terrible accident. At this time we have no other indication, no other reason to believe there’s any intentional act here.

“Personnel on board the ship were able to alert the Maryland Department of Transportation that they had lost control of their vessel.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Timeline of Baltimore bridge collapse

Mr Biden added that this meant local authorities were able to close the bridge before it was struck, which “undoubtedly saved lives”.

He continued: “Our prayers are with everyone involved in this terrible accident and all the families [affected], especially those waiting for news of their loved one right now. I know every minute in that circumstance feels like a lifetime.”

The Key Bridge carries the Interstate 695 highway over the Patapsco River southeast of the Baltimore metropolitan area.

Its main section spans 1,200 feet and was one of the longest continuous truss bridges in the world upon its completion, according to the National Steel Bridge Alliance.

The Dali was previously involved in a minor incident when it hit a quay at the Port of Antwerp in Belgium in 2016, where it was damaged, according to Vessel Finder and maritime accident site Shipwrecklog.

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