Washington [US], October 9: The situation with Hurricane Milton about to hit the US could affect plans to hold an important meeting of Ukraine's allies in Germany.
Reuters reported on October 8 that US President Joe Biden has canceled his plans to visit Germany and Angola, as Hurricane Milton, a Category 5 hurricane (the highest level on the US scale), is about to make landfall in Florida this week.
The move could affect the schedule for the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting scheduled for October 12, with the participation of Ukraine and about 50 Kyiv allies at Ramstein air base in Germany.
The White House said President Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz discussed plans for the meeting in Ramstein on Oct. 8, the highest-level meeting on the sidelines of Biden's state visit to Germany, originally scheduled for Oct. 10-13.
"I don't think I can leave the country right now," Biden said, hoping that the event and other meetings the White House chief will attend will be rescheduled. Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed the importance of the meeting in Germany this week, adding that he would present the "victory plan" that Kyiv's leader has long talked about when meeting with Western allies.
The US government and people, especially in Florida, are trying to prepare for Hurricane Milton . The Guardian quoted the US National Weather Service as saying that this is the third fastest-intensifying storm ever recorded in the Atlantic.
The US considers a hurricane to be "rapidly intensifying" when its winds increase by 35 mph (56 km/h) in 24 hours. On October 6-7, Hurricane Milton increased by 95 mph (152 km/h) in 24 hours. Its strongest winds were nearly 180 mph (Category 5) on October 7. Experts say the high amount of heat in the ocean and atmosphere is believed to have contributed to the storm's intensification.
President Biden warned that Hurricane Milton could be one of the worst storms to hit Florida in a century. He urged anyone who was in a evacuation zone to leave now because it was a matter of life and death.
Canada's CBC News on October 8 quoted analysts as saying that wind is a major concern, but storm surge is the primary threat to life.
"Hurricane Helene, which happened just a few weeks ago, caused record storm surges across Tampa Bay and parts of West Florida. People are still recovering from this storm," CBC quoted climatologist David Zierden, from the Florida Climate Center (USA), as saying.
Storm Milton could bring high tides of 3 to 4.5 metres, forecasters said. Several people have drowned in the past when Hurricane Helene brought high tides of 1.5 to 2.5 metres.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper