Hurricane Milton: What we know so far about the storm that has forced millions to evacuate in the US and Mexico

Published

7 months ago

October 9, 2024

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Hurricane Milton is set to make landfall in the US as a Category 5 storm, just days after Hurricane Helene caused more than 200 deaths and widespread devastation across several states.

Millions are facing the possibility of being evacuated as the storm swirls towards the US mainland – and is expected to roar into Florida later today.

The fire service said “if you remain there, you could die”, while there have been warnings that debris caused by Hurricane Helene could be picked up and turned into projectiles in the strong winds.

The storm was downgraded to a category 4 on Tuesday but later reclassified again as category 5 – the strongest category available.

Category 5 storms mean wind speeds greater than 156 mph, which are expected to cause “catastrophic damage”.

What else do we know about the hurricane so far and what does it mean for people in its path?

Where is the hurricane now and when will it hit the US?

Milton is currently heading towards the US at 12mph (19kph) and is sucking energy from the Gulf of Mexico’s warm water.

It is expected to have winds of up to 129mph when it hits the shores in the Tampa Bay area on Florida’s west coast on Wednesday, and has already sustained maximum winds of 180mph (285kph).

The region, home to more than three million people, has not experienced a direct hit by a major hurricane in more than a century.

The storm is also threatening Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, where more than one million people have been ordered to evacuate.

On the upside, scientists expect Milton to weaken slightly before landfall, and its path through central Florida will spare the states devastated by Helene less than two weeks ago.

What is the storm surge warning?

As of Tuesday morning, Tampa Bay is under both a hurricane warning and a storm surge warning, as the National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasts that it could be inundated with surges between three to four metres high.

The NHC said that peak storm surge levels would be between the Anclote River and Englewood, a stretch of about 100 miles that includes Tampa and various islands and keys.

“The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline,” an update said.

What measures are being taken to protect residents?

Hundreds of thousands of residents in communities along the western Gulf Coast were subject to evacuation orders.

In Florida, this means that first responders are not expected to risk their lives during a storm to rescue anyone who chooses to stay.

“If you remain there, you could die, and my men and women could die trying to rescue you,” Hillsborough Fire Rescue Chief Jason Dougherty said.

In a news conference this afternoon, Governor Ron DeSantis said the authorities are amassing up to 1.2 million fuel reserves and are ensuring that critical infrastructure – including hospitals and waste water treatment centres – have flood protection systems.

“We’ve never had this many resources prior to a storm,” he said.

There was significant traffic congestion on Monday as Tampa Bay residents escaped to safer areas in the north towards the Florida Panhandle or southeast to Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Florida, and US Representative Kathy Castor said 7,000 federal workers were on hand to help in one of the largest mobilisations of federal personnel in history.

“This is the real deal here with Milton,” Tampa mayor Jane Castor told a news conference on Monday. “If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100% of the time.”

Meanwhile, Mexican officials were using buses to evacuate people from low-lying towns and cities.

How powerful is Hurricane Milton?

Milton was downgraded to a Category 4 hurricane earlier this morning, but the NHC said it still posed “an extremely serious threat to Florida”.

Mr DeSantis described it as a “really significant” hurricane.

The storm intensified quickly on Monday, becoming a Category 5 storm in the afternoon with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph (285 kph) before being downgraded.

The strongest Atlantic hurricane on record is Allen in 1980, which reached wind speeds of 190mph (306 kph) as it moved through the Caribbean and Gulf before striking Texas and Mexico.

Milton became the third-fastest intensifying storm on record in the Atlantic Ocean, the US National Hurricane Centre said, and its path from west to east was also unusual, as Gulf hurricanes typically form in the Caribbean Sea and make landfall after traveling west and turning north.

Hasn’t the US just had a hurricane?

Yes, the area Hurricane Milton is forecast to hit was already devastated by Hurricane Helene just 12 days ago.

Helene, which also affected Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky, killed at least 230 people and caused devastating flooding and destruction.

Helene is also set to have a massive effect on Milton – Florida residents are scrambling to clear debris of the initial storm, as it could turn into projectiles when Hurricane Milton makes landfall, Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports.

What if I have travel plans in Florida?

Tampa International Airport said it planned to stop flights at 9am local time on Tuesday. The airport posted on X that it is not a shelter for people or their cars.

Meanwhile, St Pete-Clearwater International Airport said it is in a mandatory evacuation zone and will close after the last flight leaves on Tuesday.

World

First conclave vote ends in black smoke as cardinals fail to agree on new pope

Published

5 hours ago

May 8, 2025

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First conclave vote ends in black smoke as cardinals fail to agree on new pope

Cardinals have failed to reach the required two-thirds majority in their first vote to choose a new pope in the Vatican.

Black smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel chimney at 8pm, indicating they had been unable to agree.

Crowds in St Peter’s Square had been kept waiting longer than expected and most were hoping for the white smoke that signals the arrival of a new pontiff.

Latest updates as conclave under way

There was only one vote today, but from Thursday the 133 cardinals will hold two votes in the morning and two in the afternoon until at least 89 pick the same name.

The conclave started on Wednesday afternoon after cardinals swore an oath of secrecy and the doors of the Sistine Chapel were shut to the outside world.

They have given up their phones and are cut off from the outside world until a new pope is chosen.

The most recent conclaves – for Pope Francis in 2013, Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 and Pope John Paul II in 1978 – all lasted less than three days.

The voting takes places beneath Michelangelo’s legendary frescoes and the chapel – normally a packed tourist site – has installed tight security.

It’s been swept for listening devices, signal jammers have been installed, and its windows have been covered to protect from spy drones.

Lead seals have also been put on 80 doors at the conclave site to stop people going in and out.

The cardinals will sleep and eat at the Casa Santa Marta, a guest house within the Vatican where Pope Francis lived, until the process is over.

They cardinals began Wednesday by taking mass, before a solemn two-by-two procession into the Sistine Chapel in the afternoon.

Dresses in their red garb, they chanted the Litany of the Saints and Veni Creator – a hymn imploring the saints to help them find a new leader.

They then each came forward to take an oath of secrecy, placing a hand on the gospel and also promising not to allow any outside influence.

The final piece of theatre was the Latin declaration “Extra omnes” (“everyone else out”) and Archbishop Diego Ravelli, an aide to the late pope, pushed the the doors shut.

Conclave is beginning 16 days after Pope Francis’s death, which came after a long hospital stay with pneumonia.

Many experts believe it will come down to a choice between someone who will continue his progressive approach and a more conservative candidate.

Among the favourites is Luis Tagle, a cardinal who could become the first Asian pontiff, and who’s been likened to Pope Francis.

Two Italians are also seen as strong contenders: The Archbishop of Bologna, Matteo Zuppi, and the so-called “deputy pope” Pietro Parolin.

The pope’s identity is normally revealed soon after the white smoke emerges, when he steps onto the balcony to wave to the crowds in St Peter’s Square.

World

Putin prepares to host dozens of world leaders for Victory Day parade in major PR coup for Moscow

Published

7 hours ago

May 7, 2025

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Putin prepares to host dozens of world leaders for Victory Day parade in major PR coup for Moscow

It’s hard not to view the motivating factor behind Vladimir Putin’s latest unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine as one of timing.

Starting today, the three-day truce coincides with Russia’s lavish celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany.

The main event will be a huge military Victory Day parade on Red Square on Friday, where the Russian president will be welcoming more than two dozen world leaders, including China’s Xi Jinping.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed the ceasefire proposal as theatre, and a cynical ploy by Mr Putin to protect his parade, rather than human lives.

It’s certainly true that the Kremlin wants to put on a good show – not just for its guests but for the rest of the world.

The arrival of so many heads of state, including the leaders of Brazil, Egypt and Vietnam – is a major PR coup for Moscow, and a chance to show the West that its efforts to isolate Russia have failed.

Announcing the guestlist earlier this week, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov claimed it was “an indicator of Russia’s growing authority in the world”.

With that in mind, a Ukrainian attack on the parade would be seriously embarrassing for Mr Putin.

In theory it could happen – Kyiv hasn’t committed to the ceasefire, instead calling for a 30-day pause, and has said it can’t guarantee the safety of foreign dignitaries who are visiting Russia – but I think it’s highly unlikely.

It would risk damaging relations with Donald Trump, whose stance regarding peace talks appears to have shifted recently in Kyiv’s favour.

But Ukraine is still doing its best to disrupt the preparations here. Multiple drone attacks over the past few days have forced Moscow’s airports to repeatedly suspend operations, just as foreign leaders have been flying in.

Serbia’s president Aleksandar Vucic reportedly took 10 hours to reach Moscow after his flight had to stopover in Azerbaijan. While more drones targeted Moscow just before Mr Xi touched down on Wednesday afternoon.

It’s an attempt by Ukraine to humiliate Mr Putin, and to convey to his guests how much it disapproves of their visit, which it regards as a show of support for Russia’s invasion.

World

India will ‘pay the price’ for ‘blatant mistake’ says Pakistan PM

Published

7 hours ago

May 7, 2025

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India will 'pay the price' for 'blatant mistake' says Pakistan PM

Pakistan’s prime minister has pledged to retaliate after India’s deadly missile strike, saying the country will “now have to pay the price” for their “blatant mistake”.

In a televised address on state broadcaster PTV, Shehbaz Sharif responded to Wednesday’s attack in Pakistan’s Punjab province and Pakistan-administered parts of Kashmir, which a military spokesperson said had killed at least 31 civilians and wounded 46.

“For the blatant mistake that India made last night, it will now have to pay the price,” he said. “Perhaps they thought that we would retreat, but they forgot that… this is a nation of brave people.”

India said it struck nine Pakistani sites that provided “terrorist infrastructure”, which India said was the source of attacks against it. India’s defence minister claimed no civilian population was impacted.

Islamabad insisted that none of the locations targeted in Pakistan were militant camps.

India explained its strikes were in retaliation for the terrorist attack on 22 April, in which at least 26 people were shot dead by gunmen at a beauty spot near the resort town of Pahalgam in the India-administered part of Kashmir.

Hindu-majority India and Islamic Pakistan have fought two of their three wars since independence in 1947 over Muslim-majority Kashmir, which both sides claim in full and control in part.

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Indian forces attacked facilities linked to Islamist militant groups Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, two Indian military spokespeople told a briefing in New Delhi, in what New Delhi called “Operation Sindoor”.

Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri said the strikes were to pre-empt further attacks on India.

Pakistan’s military says exchanges of fire continued late Wednesday along the Line of Control, the border between it and India in Kashmir.

Pakistan also claimed it shot down several Indian aircraft on Wednesday, including three fighter jets that fell in India-administered Kashmir and India’s northern Punjab state.

Calls for restraint

Donald Trump said he wants to see India and Pakistan “work it out. I want to see them stop, and hopefully they can stop now. And if I can do anything to help, I will be there”.

There were also calls for restraint from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, China, Russia and the UK.

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai told The World with Yalda Hakim that India and Pakistan “have to unite against the forces” trying to divide them.

“I hope that Pakistan and India and the international community will come together in this moment to try to de-escalate the tensions and promote peace, start a dialogue, because that is the only forward for all of us,” she said.

Separately, the UK’s Foreign Office has advised Britons against all travel within 10km of the India-Pakistan border.

It has warned against travelling to the region of Jammu and Kashmir – including Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Sonamarg, the city of Srinagar and the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. The advice also suggests avoiding Manipur, in northeastern India.