Hurricane Milton: What’s a Category 5 storm and why is it so dangerous?
Al Jazeera
Florida’s west coast braces for high-speed winds and torrential rainfall weeks after devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.
Preparations and evacuations are under way on Florida’s west coast, where Category 5 Hurricane Milton with sustained wind speeds of 258km/h (160mph) is expected to make landfall over the next 24 hours.
However, Milton, which comes two weeks after Hurricane Helene, might weaken in intensity as it approaches landfall, forecast for Wednesday night or early Thursday.
The National Hurricane Center has said Milton presents an “extremely life-threatening situation” and is expected to bring damaging winds and torrential rainfall that will extend inland and outside the forecast cone.
Florida is still reeling from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene on September 26. The Category 4 hurricane with a wind speed of about 225km/h (140mph) had caused damage in other southeastern states as well.
