Milton weakens to Cat 3 ahead of landfall, but massive storm surge expected – National & International News – WED 9Oct2024

Milton weakens to Cat 3 ahead of landfall, but massive storm surge expected.

Netanyahu threatens Lebanon with “destruction like Gaza,” despite truce offer.

NATIONAL NEWS

Milton weakens to Cat 3 ahead of landfall, but massive storm surge expected

Just two days ago, Hurricane Milton had strengthened to a Category 5 as it made its way towards Florida’s West Coast. The storm’s strength has waxed and waned since then, and just a few hours before its expected landfall, it is now a Category 3.

Milton’s accompanying storm system has already wrought havoc in coastal areas and even in inland areas of Florida. The hurricane’s outer bands have lashed the state with strong winds and heavy rain, bringing down utility poles in some areas. The outer bands also brought at least 19 confirmed tornadoes. There has not been a full damage assessment, but so far the most significant tornado damage has been reported in Fort Myers on the Southwest coast.

Despite Milton weakening, it is still a massive storm and is expected to drive a deadly storm surge across most of Florida’s West Coast. Meteorologists predict that the worst of the flooding from the surge will come overnight. The most dire forecasts are still predicting a surge of 10 to 15 ft in some areas. The height of the storm surge will vary across the coast, depending where Milton comes ashore.

For the moment it looks as though a direct hit on Tampa, which many considered a nightmare scenario, may not come to pass. As of now it looks as though Sarasota, which is south of Tampa, will receive the brunt.

According to poweroutage.us, over 400,000 Floridians are already without power. Gov. DeSantis says there are crews on standby ready to get out to affected areas and start working on restoring power as soon as the storm clears. However, it will likely take days, if not weeks, for all customers to get power back.

Click here for live updates (opens in new tab).

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Netanyahu threatens Lebanon with “destruction like Gaza,” despite truce offer

Yesterday, Naim Qassem, the new leader of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, offered a truce with Israel, without a condition for a ceasefire in Gaza. Before the assassination of the former leader Hassan Nasrallah, Israel justified its bombardment against Lebanon by saying that Hezbollah had refused such terms. According to Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib, Nasrallah had agreed to a US-backed ceasefire resolution that included a temporary ceasefire with Gaza. Days later, Israel flattened six apartment blocks in Beirut to kill Nasrallah.

Despite Qassem offering Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exactly what he claimed to want in the first place, Netanyahu has instead moved the goal posts to justify his continued assault on Lebanon. After Qassem’s statement, Netanyahu addressed the Lebanese people (in English, curiously) in a televised statement. He threatened that Lebanon would see “destruction and suffering like Gaza” unless the people rose up against Hezbollah. Indeed today, Israel has continued to bomb heavily populated areas of Lebanon.

Israel forcing evacuation of Northern Gaza

Meanwhile in Gaza, Israel appears to have begun implementing a plan which was recently proposed by former national security advisor Giora Eiland. Eiland’s plan essentially called for a partition of Gaza, severing the north from the south, and turning the north into a “closed military zone”. Anyone left inside that closed military zone would be considered a legitimate military target. No humanitarian aid, including food, will be allowed in. Eiland’s plan is nothing short of a blueprint for mass extermination.

The Israel Defense Force has begun attempting to force the evacuation from the north. However, according to UNRWA Chief Philippe Lazzarini, about 400,000 people are trapped in the north. Many have refused to leave whatever is left of their homes, many for a second or a third time. They know too well that there is no safe place in Gaza, as Lazzarini and other UN officials have stated on many occasions.