Catastrophic storm to hit Florida on Wednesday

Report states that Hurricane Milton has greatly intensified to potentially catastrophic storm as it tears its way towards the US state of Florida.

The Director of the National Weather Service (NWS) said Milton became a category five hurricane at record-breaking speed – with wind speeds intensifying by 80 knots (148km/h) over 24 hours.

Milton is packing ferocious winds of up to180mph (285km/h) as it skirts the northern edge of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula.

Forecasters warn of potentially catastrophic storm surges along coastal areas while stating that the storm is expected to hit the heavily populated city of Tampa Bay with full force on Wednesday.

Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday, disclosed to newsmen that the storm is assumed to be a monster thereby informing Floridians to prepare for the state’s largest evacuation effort in years.

Warnings over Hurricane Milton come just 10 days after Hurricane Helene – the deadliest mainland storm since Katrina in 2005 – pummelled the US south-east, killing at least 225 people and hundreds missing.