Hurricane Milton, a Category 4 storm packing 130mph (209km/h) winds, is going to be “deadly and catastrophic”, officials are warning, as millions fled Florida for safety.
The Miami office of the National Weather Service issued more tornado warnings by yesterday afternoon – 41 – than on any other calendar day on record.
The storm surge has begun on the south-west Florida coast, with the gauge at Naples already 4ft above normal levels, reaching the level of “minor flooding”.
Milton is forecast to be at category three strength when it makes landfall as soon as 22:00 local time over southern Sarasota, reports the BBC.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden slammed a “reckless” promotion of “outright lies” by Trump and others about the Federal Government’s response.
It comes less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene hit the Gulf Coast as a category four storm, killing at least 225 people across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina.