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.
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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.
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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.
‘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.”
Image: Heavy rainfall in Orlando. Pic: Reuters
Image: Protective barriers surround Tampa General Hospital. Pic: Reuters
Image: 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.
Image: The storm as seen from space. Pic: Matthew Dominick
Image: 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.
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.
Buckingham Palace previously only said the visit would happen “when diaries allow”, but Mr Trump told reporters on Thursday: “I think they are setting a date for September.”
“I don’t know how it can be bigger than the last one,” he said.
“The last one was incredible, but they say the next one will be even more important.”
Image: Sir Keir Starmer handed Trump the invite earlier this year. Pic: PA
Mr Trump will become the only elected political leader in modern times to be invited to two state visits by a British monarch.
The president called the UK a “great country” in his comments at the White House on Thursday and said it was “an honour to be a friend of King Charles and the family, William”.
His first state visit was in 2019, when he was hosted by the late Queen.
Second-term US presidents who have already made a state visit usually get tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle, as was the case for George W Bush and Barack Obama.
Image: The president was hosted by the Queen in June 2019. Pic: Reuters
But Mr Trump is set to get all the pomp and ceremony laid on again in his honour – with another state banquet likely at Buckingham Palace.
The Royal Family‘s soft power diplomacy is viewed as a way of currying favour with the president, who’s known for his love of the monarchy and links to the UK through his mother, who was born on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland.
It comes as the government seeks an economic deal with the US, in the hope of potentially lessening the impact of the president’s tariffs.
Four people are in hospital as police deal with an active shooter on a university campus in Florida.
Videos showed people running through traffic, fleeing the scene, around the time of the shooting at the student union at Florida State University’s campus in Tallahassee.
Local police were “on the scene or on the way”, according to an alert sent out by the school and students have been told to “shelter in place”.
The FBI is also said to be responding to the incident.
Image: Florida State University students wait for news amid an active shooter incident at the school.
Pic: AP/Kate Payne
In a statement, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said it was “actively receiving and caring for patients” from the incident.
“At this time, details are still unfolding, and we do not yet have specific information to share. However, we want to assure the community that our teams are fully mobilised and prepared to provide the highest level of care and support to all those affected,” it added.
President Donald Trump said he was fully briefed on the incident and described it as “a shame”.
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He added: “It’s a horrible thing. Horrible that things like this take place.”
Florida governor Ron DeSantis, in a statement posted on X, said: “Our prayers are with our FSU family and state law enforcement is actively responding.”
Ambulances, fire trucks and police vehicles raced to the campus around midday local time (5pm UK time) on Thursday.
As students streamed away from the area of the student union in their hundreds, some were visibly emotional and others were glued to their phones.
Dozens later gathered near the university’s music school, waiting for news.
Florida State University student Daniella Streety told NBC News of the chaos that unfolded at the scene.
She remained on lockdown in a campus building and said: “I did see them carry out one student in what looked like on a stretcher and kept them in the road until an ambulance was able to pick them up.”
Joshua Sirmans, 20, was in the university’s main library when he said alarms began going off warning of an active shooter.
Police escorted him and other students out of the library with their hands over their heads, he said.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
A US federal judge has warned that he could hold the Trump administration in contempt for violating his orders to turn around planes carrying deportees to El Salvador.
US District Judge James E. Boasberg said he had found “probable cause” to hold the administration in criminal contempt and warned he could refer the matter for prosecution if it does not “purge” its contempt.
If the government doesn’t purge the contempt, charges could be brought forward by the Justice Department, NBC News reported.
And if the executive-led Justice Department refused to prosecute the matter, Judge Boasberg said he would appoint another attorney to prosecute the contempt.
Mr Boasberg said the administration could “purge contempt by returning those who were sent to El Salvador prison, in violation of his order, to the US.
This, he said, “might avail themselves of their right to challenge their removability”.
“The Constitution does not tolerate wilful disobedience of judicial orders – especially by officials of a coordinate branch who have sworn an oath to uphold it,” the judge wrote.
Executive vs judicial
This marks a notable escalation in the ongoing tensions between the judicial and executive branches of the US government during Donald Trump’s second term.
Parts of the US president’s legislative programme have been halted by judges, as the administration strains against the restraints of the separation of powers.
Mr Trump previously called for Judge Boasberg to be impeached while the Justice Department claimed he overstepped his authority – both reflecting the administration’s attempts to overcome perceived obstacles to the implementation of its agenda.
Mr Trump’s administration has also argued it did not violate any orders.
It claimed the judge didn’t include a turnaround directive in his written order and said the planes had already left the US by the time the order came down.
‘Administrative error’
At the heart of the legal wrangling is Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who was sent to El Salvador by the Trump administration in March despite an immigration court order preventing his deportation.
Washington acknowledged that Mr Garcia was deported due to an “administrative error”.
The US Supreme Court has called on the administration to facilitate his return, upholding a court order by Judge Paula Xinis, but Trump officials have claimed that Mr Garcia has ties to the MS-13 gang.
Image: Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Pic: CASA/AP
Mr Garcia’s lawyers have argued there is no evidence of this.
This all comes after El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele visited the White House earlier this week.
During his time with Mr Trump, Mr Bukele said that he would not return Mr Garcia, likening it to smuggling “a terrorist into the United States.”
Image: The US and El Salvador presidents in the Oval Office.
Pic: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque
Along with Mr Garcia, the Trump administration has deported hundreds of people, mostly Venezuelans, whom it claims are gang members without presenting evidence and without a trial.
Democrat senator travels to El Salvador
Meanwhile, Democratic senator Chris Van Hollen arrived in El Salvador on Wednesday, saying he would seek a meeting with the country’s officials to secure Mr Garcia’s release.
“I just arrived in San Salvador a little while ago and look forward to meeting with the US embassy team to discuss Mr. Abrego Garcia’s release,” Mr Van Hollen said on social media.
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