Hurricane Milton begins to hit the US, postponing Ukraine conference

Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the summit at the US military base Ramstein in Germany will not take place this weekend as scheduled.

The summit will be attended by leaders of Ukraine's Western allies and will discuss further measures to support the country's defense in its conflict with Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to present his "victory plan" at the summit.

US President Joe Biden shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the White House last year. Photo: NBC News

The event was scheduled to take place on October 12 but was postponed after US President Joe Biden decided to stay in the country to deal with the situation of Hurricane Milton about to make landfall in Florida.

“The October 12, 2024 event has been postponed,” the US Public Affairs Office at Ramstein Air Base said in an email to journalists. “Announcements of future meetings of the Ukraine Defense Liaison Group will be announced shortly.”

Now, the expanding Milton has moved closer to Florida’s west coast, unleashing tornadoes and torrential rain. As many as two million people across Florida have been ordered to evacuate, as well as millions more directly in the storm’s projected path. Officials issued increasingly dire warnings Wednesday as the storm began to make landfall.

“If you decide to stay, make sure you have a life jacket on hand,” said Sarasota County Emergency Management Chief Sandra Tapfumaneyi. Fueled by unusually warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico, the storm is expected to hit the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, home to more than 3 million people.

As of 5 p.m. EST Wednesday, the storm was centered 62 miles (100 kilometers) west-southwest of Sarasota, Florida, and moving northeast at 17 mph (28 km/h), according to the National Hurricane Center.

Although Milton weakened slightly on Wednesday afternoon to a Category 3 hurricane, it continued to strengthen as it approached Florida and remained an "extremely dangerous major hurricane" with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

Two weeks ago, Hurricane Helene killed about 220 people in the eastern United States. Much of the debris left behind by Helene has yet to be cleared.

Nguyen Khanh (according to DW, Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/sieu-bao-milton-bat-dau-do-bo-vao-nuoc-my-hoan-hoi-nghi-giua-ukraine-va-phuong-tay-post316033.html