Hurricane Milton LIVE: UK flights cancelled as 'life or death' warning issued

Florida's storm-weary Gulf Coast was bracing ahead of Milton, while Virgin Atlantic cancelled flights to the UK ahead of the storm.

The airline warned passengers: "Due to adverse weather conditions expected to be caused by Hurricane Milton, a state of emergency has been declared in Florida. Unfortunately, this has impacted Virgin Atlantic's flying schedule, and services to and from Orlando and Tampa are subject to cancellations and delays."

The eye of Hurricane Milton appears poised to strike the Tampa Bay area Wednesday, threatening an area that hasn't been hit directly by a significant hurricane for well over 100 years.

Mayor Jane Castor of Tampa told reporters ahead of the storm: "This is the real deal here with Milton. If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100 percent of the time."

Meanwhile, Joe Biden warned Floridians that evacuation orders as the National Hurricane Centre warned "one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida".

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