Hurricane Milton is set to make landfall in the US as a Category 4 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 tomorrow.
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.
But what 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).
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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.
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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.
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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.
Russia launched a large drone attack on Kyiv overnight, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy warning the attack shows his capital needs better air defences.
Ukraine’s air defence units shot down 50 of 73 Russian drones launched, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries as a result of the attacks.
Russia has used more than 800 guided aerial bombs and around 460 attack drones in the past week.
Warning that Ukraine needs to improve its air defences, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “An air alert has been sounded almost daily across Ukraine this week”.
“Ukraine is not a testing ground for weapons. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state.
“But Russia still continues its efforts to kill our people, spread fear and panic, and weaken us.”
Russia did not comment on the attack.
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It comes as Russian media reported that Colonel General Gennady Anashkin, the commander of the country’s southern military district, had been removed from his role over allegedly providing misleading reports about his troops’ progress.
While Russian forces have advanced at the fastest rate in Ukraine since the start of the invasion, forces have been much slower around Siversk and the eastern region of Donetsk.
Russian forces have reportedly captured a British man while he was fighting for Ukraine.
In a widely circulated video posted on Sunday, the man says his name is James Scott Rhys Anderson, aged 22.
He says he is a former British Army soldier who signed up to fight for Ukraine’s International Legion after his job.
He is dressed in army fatigues and speaks with an English accent as he says to camera: “I was in the British Army before, from 2019 to 2023, 22 Signal Regiment.”
He tells the camera he was “just a private”, “a signalman” in “One Signal Brigade, 22 Signal Regiment, 252 Squadron”.
“When I left… got fired from my job, I applied on the International Legion webpage. I had just lost everything. I just lost my job,” he said.
“My dad was away in prison, I see it on the TV,” he added, shaking his head. “It was a stupid idea.”
In a second video, he is shown with his hands tied and at one point, with tape over his eyes.
He describes how he had travelled to Ukraine from Britain, saying: “I flew to Krakow, Poland, from London Luton. Bus from there to Medyka in Poland, on the Ukraine border.”
Russian state news agency Tass reported that a military source said a “UK mercenary” had been “taken prisoner in the Kursk area” of Russia.
The UK Foreign Office said it was “supporting the family of a British man following reports of his detention”.
The Ministry of Defence has declined to comment at this stage.
The body of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who went missing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been found, Israel has said.
Zvi Kogan, the Chabad representative in the UAE,went missing on Thursday.
A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s office on Sunday said the 28-year-old rabbi was murdered, calling it a “heinous antisemitic terror incident”.
“The state of Israel will act with all means to seek justice with the criminals responsible for his death,” it said.
The Emirati government gave no immediate acknowledgment that Mr Kogan had been found dead. Its interior ministry has described the rabbi as being “missing and out of contact”.
“Specialised authorities immediately began search and investigation operations upon receiving the report,” the interior ministry said.
Mr Kogan lived in the UAE with his wife Rivky, who is a US citizen. He ran a Kosher grocery store in Dubai, which has been the target of online protests by pro-Palestinian supporters.
The Chabad Lubavitch movement, a prominent and highly observant branch of Orthodox Judaism, said Mr Kogan was last seen in Dubai.
Israeli authorities reissued their recommendation against all non-essential travel to the UAE and said visitors currently there should minimise movement and remain in secure areas.
The rabbi’s disappearance comes as Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel after the two countries traded fire in October.
While the Israeli statement on Mr Kogan did not mention Iran, Iranian intelligence services have previously carried out kidnappings in the UAE.
The UAE diplomatically recognised Israel in 2020. Since then, synagogues and businesses catering to kosher diners have been set up for the burgeoning Jewish community but the unrest in the Middle East has sparked deep anger in the country.