Hurricane Milton 'worst storm in 100 years' as millions evacuated (original) (raw)
Florida residents are bracing for a huge storm to hit their shores with millions of people evacuated. Hurricane Milton could be the worst storm for 100 years, warned US President Joe Biden.
He has opted to remain at the White House to monitor the hurricane and postponed an overseas trip to do so. All flights from Tampa International Airport were halted on Tuesday morning and Orlando International Airport - the nation's seventh busiest, and Florida's most trafficked - said it would cease operations Wednesday morning.
It returned to a Category 5 storm on Tuesday night, with the Tampa Bay area most at risk of Milton's destructive wrath. There could be a horrifying 15ft storm surge on Florida's west coast, sparking widespread floods and dangerous projectiles.
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The hurricane's arrival follows just days after Helene made landfall in Florida which killed more than 220 people. Helene came ashore about 150 miles north of Tampa in the Florida Panhandle, and still managed to cause drowning deaths due to surges that were about 5-8ft (1.5-2.5m) above normal tide levels.
Forecasters have warned of a possible 10-15ft (3-4.5m) storm surge in Tampa Bay with Milton. It is the highest surge ever predicted for that location and has led to evacuation orders for communities all along the coast, The Mirror reports.
Salvador Gonzalez (L) and Jorge Leon place plywood over the windows of a business before Hurricane Milton's arrival (Image: Getty Images)
The National Hurricane Center warned that Milton is "expected to be a dangerous major hurricane" when it reaches the Florida coast. "A northeastward motion with some increase in forward speed is expected" through Wednesday night.
More than 5.5 million people were urged to leave Florida’s western coast, one of the largest evacuations in state history, The New York Times reports. In just 46.5 hours, Milton went from forming as a tropical storm with 40mph winds to a top-of-the-charts Category 5 hurricane. Milton is just the latest system in a storm season that scientists say is unusual.
Forecasters were predicting a busy Atlantic hurricane season before it started, and it began when Beryl became the earliest storm on record to reach Category 5 status.
St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport said it was in a mandatory evacuation zone and closed after the last flight left Tuesday. It said all flights were cancelled Wednesday and Thursday. Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld - will close, with the latter two also remaining closed on Thursday and Disney likely to follow suit.
Child poverty is soaring in Birmingham and without urgent change, will only get worse. Having worked with charities and community groups, BirminghamLive is campaigning for the following changes to start to turn the tide:
- End the two-child benefit cap
- Provide free school meals to every child in poverty
- Create a city “aid bank” for baby and child essentials
- Protect children’s and youth services
- Create permanent, multi year Household Support Fund and give more Discretionary Housing grants
- Set up child health and wellbeing hubs in our most deprived neighbourhoods
- Appoint a Birmingham child poverty tsar
- Provide free public travel for young people
You can see why in more detail here.
Read our full report Birmingham: A Child Poverty Emergency here.
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