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Florida is bracing for winds of up to 160mph as people continue to evacuate ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Milton.

The storm has the “potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes” the area has seen when it makes landfall late Wednesday or early on Thursday, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

Some residents have insisted they will stay after millions were ordered to evacuate, while officials warned anyone staying behind will face grim odds of surviving.

Milton has been a Category 5 hurricane during much of its approach and despite the recent downgrading to a category 4, it remains “major and strong”, Florida governor Ron DeSantis said.

It is expected to bring widespread destruction to the Tampa Bay area, which is home to more than 3.3 million people.

President Joe Biden postponed an upcoming trip to Germany and Angola in order to oversee preparations for the storm – in addition to the ongoing response to Hurricane Helene.

“This could be the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century, and God-willing it won’t be, but it’s looking like that right now,” Mr Biden said.

Follow live: Tourists stranded in Disney resort as deadly hurricane nears

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Inside a plane flying through Hurricane Milton

Heavy rain is already spreading across many communities with conditions expected to rapidly deteriorate throughout Wednesday and into Thursday.

Experts warned of the risk of catastrophic and life-threatening flash flooding, while several tornadoes were also likely across parts of central and southern Florida.

Such is the power of Hurricane Milton, it could land a once-in-a-century hit on the cities of Tampa and St Petersburg, engulfing the regions with possibly deadly storm surges.

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Area becomes ghost town ahead of potentially deadly storm

Forecasters warned the storm could bring eight to 12ft (2.44-3.66m) storm surges, leading to further possible evacuation orders being issued along the Gulf Coast.

Eleven states in Florida have issued mandatory evacuation orders with up to nearly six million people said to be in the potential path of the storm.

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‘We haven’t seen a storm like this’

Pasco County is located on Florida’s west coast and its director of emergency management Andrew Fossa echoed the warnings from other officials.

“I hate to say it like this – Pasco County’s going to get a black eye from this one,” he said.

“We haven’t seen a storm like this in a lifetime.”

Cars drive during heavy rainfall as Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Orlando.
Pic: Reuters
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Heavy rainfall in Orlando. Pic: Reuters

A view shows a barrier at Tampa General Hospital, as Hurricane Milton makes landfall.
Pic:Reuters
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Protective barriers surround Tampa General Hospital. Pic: Reuters

Tampa, Florida
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Conditions have started to worsen in Tampa

Tampa mayor Jane Castor said up to 15ft (4.6m) of storm surge being forecast for her city would be deep enough to swallow an entire house.

“So if you’re in it, basically that’s the coffin that you’re in,” she warned.

Pic: Goes-East/Noaa/Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Catastrophic Hurricane Milton Creeps Toward Florida, Gulf of Mexico, United States - 08 Oct 2024
Dawn view of Hurricane Milton, currently a catastrophic Category 4 hurricane with winds of 155 mph, continues to churn across the Gulf of Mexico heading for Florida, shown on the GOES-East satellite at 10:09 GMT, October 8, 2024 North of The Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.

8 Oct 2024
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Hurricane Milton approaches Florida. Pic: Goes-East/Noaa/Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

The National Hurricane Center said the storm was ‘extremely dangerous’ and posed a ‘serious threat’ to Floridians.
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The storm as seen from space. Pic: Matthew Dominick

People board up businesses as Hurricane Milton approaches Fort Myers, Florida, U.S. October 8, 2024. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo/File Photo
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People board up businesses in Fort Myers, Florida. Pic: Reuters

A lengthy line of vehicles has been heading north as residents moved to safer areas, while hundreds of flights have been cancelled with many more expected to be grounded.

Read more on Sky News:
What we know about Hurricane Milton
Why a meteorologist was reduced to tears

In Riverview, south of Tampa, several drivers waiting in a long line for fuel said they had no plans to evacuate.

“I think we’ll just hang, you know – tough it out,” said Martin Oakes, of nearby Apollo Beach.

“We got shutters up. The house is all ready. So this is sort of the last piece of the puzzle.”

Forecasters predicted the storm will retain hurricane strength as it crosses central Florida on Thursday on a path east toward the Atlantic Ocean.

‘Hurricane fatigue’ has become a thing, over time. Just not this time

As if it didn’t feel ‘ghost town’ enough, our drive through the abandoned streets around the Tampa Bay took us past a skeleton strapped to a balcony railing.

It was a nod to Halloween, of course, but was entirely in keeping with the eerie nothingness of deserted streets.

Floridians know a thing or two about hurricanes, to the extent that ‘hurricane fatigue’ has become a thing, over time. Just not this time.

They read and heed the warnings of a hurricane far stronger than they’re used to and have followed the official advice to evacuate.

Everywhere you see evidence of a state that knows the drill. Windows are boarded up, cars are propped up on driveways to raise them above flood water level.

For the same reason, cars are left parked on raised bridges and I counted a golf cart among them – it wouldn’t be Florida without one.

What traffic there was consisted of truck drivers offered a couple of hundred dollars, and a police escort, to transport debris lying on the ground in the wake of Hurricane Helene. It is debris that could become projectiles as the wind picks up.

Adding to the spooky air, a police car tours empty streets with a loud hailer message warning of looming danger. It is a warning that’s been heard by people here – evident in the amount of property lying empty.

Absenteeism is to be encouraged in the panhandle state over the next 24 hours.

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Charlie Kirk suspect Tyler Robinson ‘was in romantic relationship with transgender roommate’ – Utah governor

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Charlie Kirk suspect Tyler Robinson 'was in romantic relationship with transgender roommate' - Utah governor

The suspect accused of shooting dead right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk was in a romantic relationship with his transgender roommate, Utah’s governor has said.

Tyler Robinson, 22, from Washington in Utah, is due to appear in court on Tuesday after Kirk, 31, was killed during one of his rallies at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

Robinson is being held without bail on suspicion of aggravated murder, a felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, and obstruction of justice.

According to Utah’s Republican governor, Spencer James Cox, he was in a relationship with his roommate – who was in the process of transitioning.

“The roommate was a romantic partner,” he told NBC News’s Meet The Press on Sunday. “We can confirm that that roommate is a boyfriend who is transitioning from male to female.”

He added that the roommate has been “incredibly cooperative” and had “no idea that this [the shooting] was happening”, but that Robinson has not been cooperating with police.

Tyler Robinson. Pic: Utah Governor's Office
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Tyler Robinson. Pic: Utah Governor’s Office

Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University before he was shot. Pic: AP
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Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University before he was shot. Pic: AP

Kirk, who co-founded the conservative student movement Turning Point USA, regularly expressed anti-LGBTQ views.

The motive of the shooting is unclear, and officials have not said whether Robinson’s relationship – or his roommate’s gender – is relevant to their investigation.

Authorities are still trying to get access to cloud storage linked to Robinson, according to NBC.

Mr Cox has previously said the suspect came from a “conservative family, but his ideology was very different than his family”, adding in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that he had been “deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology”.

According to the governor, his relatives have said Robinson was critical of Kirk, saying he was “full of hate and spreading hate” and “talked about why he didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had”.

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Security camera shows Charlie Kirk suspect

The 22-year-old is due to be charged when he makes his first court appearance on Tuesday, according to the Utah County attorney’s office.

He was in his third year of an electrical apprenticeship programme at Dixie Technical College in St George, Utah, NBC reported.

A spokesperson for Utah Valley University, where Kirk was speaking when he was shot in the neck, said Robinson studied there for one semester in 2021.

Kristin Schwiermann, a neighbour of his family’s, described him as “smart” and “quiet”, and added that he “never caused any problems”.

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Woman recalls encounter with Charlie Kirk suspect

Memorial to be held at Super Bowl venue

It was revealed on Sunday that a memorial to Kirk will be held at the stadium where the 2023 US Super Bowl was held.

State Farm Stadium, just outside of Phoenix, Arizona, is home to the American football team the Arizona Cardinals and can hold 60,000 people.

President Donald Trump has said he plans to attend and will posthumously award Kirk with the highest US civilian honour – the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Kirk, who hosted his own self-titled podcast, had millions of followers on social media.

He was a regular visitor at the White House and has been credited with the increase in young men voting for Mr Trump at the 2024 presidential election.

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‘Bella Ciao’ to ‘OwO’ – what the engravings on bullets in Charlie Kirk case may refer to

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'Bella Ciao' to 'OwO' - what the engravings on bullets in Charlie Kirk case may refer to

Experts have described engravings left on ammunition at the scene of the Charlie Kirk shooting as “extremely online” – so what do the words and symbols actually mean?

Authorities said on Friday that the suspect accused of fatally shooting the Conservative activist left behind bullet casings featuring references to fascism, video games and internet memes.

Kirk at Utah Valley University where he was shot. Pic: Reuters/The Salt Lake Tribune
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Kirk at Utah Valley University where he was shot. Pic: Reuters/The Salt Lake Tribune

To those who aren’t chronically online, the messages may appear to be total gibberish. But for others, specifically gamers, many of the meanings will have immediately been clear.

Here’s what each of the casings reference – and why experts have cautioned against using them to make assumptions about the suspect’s political leanings.

1. ‘notices, bulges, OWO, what’s this?’

This writing appears to reference a meme about the furry subculture, which centres on an interest in anthropomorphic animal characters.

Within the furry community, OwO is an emoticon of a cute face (with the Os as the eyes and the w as a cute mouth or nose) and used as a way of flirting – but outside the community, it is often used in a mocking way, or as part of trolling.

It’s incredibly common for phrases used by people who are “extremely online” – which essentially means highly engaged in online culture – to have double or multiple meanings.

For this reason, experts have cautioned against trying to interpret messages such as these engravings to determine an attacker’s political leanings or motive.

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What we know about the shooting arrest

Jamie Cohen, an assistant professor of media studies who studies memes at Queens College in New York, said: “Oftentimes this extremely online disguise is meant to be doublespeak.”

Speaking to Sky News’ US partner NBC News, he continued: “It’s meant specifically for someone like me to dive into what they would call meme culture and declare them something so that they get more press.

“So it could just be another bait and switch for researchers who are falling into the same trap that they are designing for more viral exposure.”

2. ‘Hey, fascist! Catch ↑ → ↓↓↓’

When asked by Sky News’ US correspondent James Matthews what the messages on the casings meant, Utah governor Spencer Cox said the writing referring to a fascist “speaks for itself”.

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Engraving on bullet casing ‘speaks for itself’

The second half of the inscription – the directional arrows – were immediately identified by some gamers.

Helldivers 2 players have pointed out that the arrow sequence is the code used to summon a 500kg bomb in the 2024 game – which itself has been interpreted as a satire of fascism.

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3. ‘Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao’

Bella Ciao is a classic Italian song that became a popular anti-fascism anthem during Benito Mussolini’s dictatorship.

It has won renewed popularity in recent years thanks, in part, to featuring multiple times in Netflix’s Spanish television series Money Heist.

A popular remix of Bella Ciao has hit more than 260 million streams on Spotify worldwide and it’s become a favourite on TikTok, as well as within the gaming community.

Read more:
All we know about the suspected assassin
The string of bloody political violence in the MAGA era

4. ‘If you read this, you are gay lmao’

This juvenile insult, using the well-known abbreviation for ‘laughing my ass off’, is a common ‘gotcha’ phrase and simply appears to mock investigators.

The messages, another expert has said, make one thing clear – the suspect was likely seeking fame.

Lindsay Hahn, a University at Buffalo associate professor who researches ideological extremism and the ways in which perpetrators of violence justify their actions, said the messages do not necessarily indicate a specific ideology.

“But what they do indicate, is that the shooter wanted to get a message across and therefore be talked about online,” she told NBC.

“It sort of seems like these messages, at the very minimum, were selected because he knew they were going to be talked about.”

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Charlie Kirk memorial to be held in Arizona stadium

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Charlie Kirk memorial to be held in Arizona stadium

A memorial for right-wing US influencer Charlie Kirk will be held next Sunday, in a stadium that previously hosted the 2023 Super Bowl.

The 31-year-old, who was a close ally of Donald Trump, was fatally shot in the neck on Wednesday while speaking to university students at an event in Utah.

His appearance at Utah Valley University was part of a planned tour of US college campuses.

A memorial for Charlie Kirk at Turning Point USA headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. Pic: Reuters
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A memorial for Charlie Kirk at Turning Point USA headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. Pic: Reuters

Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, shortly before he was shot. Pic: AP
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Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, shortly before he was shot. Pic: AP

Turning Point USA, the prominent youth conservative organisation of which Mr Kirk was the president and co-founder, is holding the event at State Farm Stadium outside Phoenix.

The venue is the home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals and can hold more than 60,000 people.

Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old from Washington, Utah, is being held without bail after being arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily harm and obstruction of justice charges, according to court documents.

The motivation behind the fatal shooting is still unclear, but Utah governor Spencer Cox commented that Robinson described Mr Kirk as “full of hate and spreading hate”.

More on Arizona

Robinson is due to make an initial court appearance on Tuesday, when he is also expected to be charged, the Utah County attorney’s office said.

Tyler Robinson. Pic: Utah Governor's Office
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Tyler Robinson. Pic: Utah Governor’s Office

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Suspect’s movements before and after shooting

President Trump, who will be back in the US after his UK state visit next week, has previously said he plans to attend Mr Kirk’s funeral.

Mr Trump has said he will be posthumously awarding Mr Kirk with the nation’s highest civilian honour, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Mr Kirk’s body was flown back from Salt Lake City to his home state of Arizona on Air Force Two on Thursday, with the US vice president and close friend JD Vance on board.

JD Vance helps carry the coffin of Charlie Kirk from Air Force Two in Arizona
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JD Vance helps carry the coffin of Charlie Kirk from Air Force Two in Arizona

His widow, Erika Kirk, has vowed to continue his campus tour and his radio and podcast shows.

Speaking publicly for the first time in a livestreamed video on Friday, she said: “To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die.”

“It won’t. I refuse to let that happen.”

She said she told her three-year-old daughter: “Daddy went on a work trip with Jesus.”

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Charlie Kirk shooting: What bullet inscriptions mean

Read more: What the engravings on bullets in Charlie Kirk case may refer to

Mr Kirk, who was a father of two, had millions of followers across social media.

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A makeshift memorial to Mr Kirk has been set up at Utah Valley University, with flowers, American flags and handwritten messages left at the main entrance.

The university says there will be increased security when classes resume on Wednesday.

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