Hurricane Milton, which has strengthened to a “catastrophic” Category 5 storm, is closing in on Florida’s west coast and is expected to make landfall Wednesday night or early Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said. The hurricane, which could bring maximum sustained winds of nearly 160 mph with bigger gusts, poses a dire threat to the densely populated zone that includes Tampa, Sarasota and Fort Myers. As well as “damaging hurricane-force winds,” coastal communities face a “life-threatening” storm surge, the center said.
A car half-buried in sand at Bradenton Beach in Florida’s Anna Maria Island, where a clean-up was underway following Hurricane Helene as Hurricane Milton approached on Tuesday. (Rebecca Blackwell/AP)
