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The US state of Florida is bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Idalia, which is growing in strength as it bears down on the Gulf Coast. It has caused severe flooding and widespread power outages in western Cuba and is expected to bring powerful winds and a storm surge, which could see water levels as high as 15 feet. Craig Setzer, Chief Meteorologist of the Royal Caribbean Group and Hurricane Preparedness Specialist in Miami, told Newsday that ''everybody should be out of its path''. He said 'the winds are expected to hit landfall at 130 miles an hour, it will strip all the leaves and everything off the trees and it will flatten any buildings that have not been reinforced and strengthened'. He calls it 'a multi hazard event and the wind while terrifying and destructive does not cause as many fatalities as the water, the storm surge which is the sea water that is pushed up over land many feet high, sometimes for many miles. There is also another other factor of rainwater he adds that can cause flash flooding. This will be the 15th category 4-5 hurricane Florida has had. Troops are being mobilised across the state and President Biden is promising federal help to those affected.

( Photo shows workers in Florida's Gulf Coast preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Idalia by placing protective plywood over the openings at Toucan's Bar & Grill on August 29, 2023 in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)