Helene strengthens to an 'extremely dangerous' Category 4 hurricane as it takes aim at northwest Florida

Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) — Helene strengthens to an 'extremely dangerous' Category 4 hurricane as it takes aim at northwest Florida.

Latest stories

  • Met Office responds to next week's 1,800-mile Arctic snow blast reports

    The Met Office and BBC Weather teams have issued their verdicts over claims a staggering 1,800-mile Arctic blast will hit the UK.

  • Thousands of shipping containers have been lost at sea. What happens when they burst open?

    Russ Lewis has picked up some strange things along the coast of Long Beach Peninsula in Washington state over the years: Hot Wheels bicycle helmets with feather tufts, life-size plastic turkey decoys made for hunters, colorful squirt guns. If you find a single Croc shoe, you might think somebody lost it out on the beach, he said.

  • Family of four cuts energy bills to just £16 a month

    James Smith and his family won't face the same high bills as everyone else from today

  • Hurricane Kirk strengthens into a Category 3 storm in the Atlantic

    Hurricane Kirk strengthened Wednesday into a Category 3 storm in the Atlantic Ocean and was expected to grow rapidly into a major hurricane, forecasters said. There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect, and the storm system was not yet deemed a threat to land. Kirk reached Category 3 status on Wednesday, the Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

  • Fat Bear week thrown into chaos after cameras livestream killing

    Alaska’s annual Fat Bear Week contest got off to a delayed start because a female participant known as Bear 402, was killed by a male during a livestreamed fight.

  • Dog Saved From 20-Foot Tree After Being Swept Away In Helene Flooding

    "Them finding that dog yesterday was a bright spot in the middle of this chaos,” said a rescue official, nearly a week after the storm decimated the area.

  • Thousands of parks at risk under Labour’s housebuilding revolution

    Thousands of parks, allotments and community gardens are in danger of being built on as part of Labour’s housing revolution.

  • 'People will die': Protesters gather outside Scottish Power headquarters

    Angry protesters gathered today outside the Scottish Power buildings on St Vincent Street claiming that “thousands will die this winter” as a result of fuel poverty.

  • Met Office warns UK could be hit by 'heavy rain and strong winds' as ex-Hurricane Kirk approaches

    There could be more unsettled weather next week

  • Shocking Moment Camper Van Plummets Over Waterfall During Flood

    A recreational vehicle was spotted being swept away by a gushing river in southwest Virginia on September 27, after remnants of Hurricane Helene brought widespread flooding to the region.This footage was filmed by Benjamin Laparra, who said he captured it near the town of Fries while traveling through the area last Friday.“We were at the dam, taking photos and videos of the amount of water, and there was a guy telling us that there were a couple RV campers rolling down the river,” Laparra told Storyful.“My girlfriend and I were going up there for a weekend. The weather just kinda hit us on Friday pretty bad. We had no electricity or WiFi, so couldn’t really get in contact with our families. But overall, we got through the weekend,” he added.By September 30, at least two deaths in the state were known to be caused by the storm, local media said, citing local officials. Credit: Benjamin Laparra via Storyful

  • Latest Watford weather forecast for coming days, weekend and next week

    Watford and much of Hertfordshire has been lashed by torrential rain in recent days – but have we seen the last of it for now?

  • Hurricane Helene death toll passes 200 across the six states most devastated by the storm

    Hundreds more are still thought to be missing, though many may simply be disconnected from their families due to lack of power and communications, authorities have said

  • ExxonMobil abandons plans for underwater Fawley pipeline

    Controversial plans for a fuel pipeline from Fawley Refinery have been scrapped, ExxonMobil has confirmed.

  • People moved to Asheville to escape extreme weather. They forgot its tragic history.

    The destruction reveals this city — like any in America — was never safe, it’s just that memories are short and the climate crisis consistently underestimated.

  • Lorry stuck on narrow country lane has to be removed by a crane

    The lorry got stuck on Monday and the only way to remove it was to lift it out

  • EPA’s drinking water limits for PFAS are under threat – and that’s nothing new

    Though utilities’ mission is to provide clean water, their trade groups for decades have often fiercely opposed initiatives to improve quality

  • 55k Tonnes: Uber to launch 'carbon negative pub' by asking punters to cycle as they drink

    The car booking app said it wants to get greener

  • Hurricane Helene is deadliest storm since Katrina as fatalities reach 182

    The majority of deaths were reported in North Carolina

  • Gap in Albanese government’s new fuel efficiency rules means ‘biggest, dirtiest polluters’ exempt

    New vehicle efficiency standards (NVES) will not apply to at least four large vehicles, source says

  • A huge cavern helps Tokyo prepare for a changing climate

    STORY: ::Kasukabe, Japan::July 4, 2024It looks like a secret underground cavern from the set of a movie. But it's actually a facility designed to keep Tokyo from flooding.It is one part of a growing system to ensure the expected increase in rainfall doesn’t overcome the Japanese capital.::This EarthHelping to oversee the expansion of this underground system is Shun Otomo.::Shun OtomoTokyo Bureau of Construction“As the climate changes, these kinds of rains are expected to become more and more frequent and to have even greater impact we intend to strengthen the provision of these facilities in order to ensure the safety and security of the people of Tokyo."::Tokyo, JapanFifty-nine massive pillars that are 59 feet high and weigh 500 tons each make up what is known as the “underground chamber” here north of Tokyo.It has enough volume to fit almost 100 Olympic-size swimming pools of water.When nearby rivers flood, the overflow courses through nearly four miles of massive underground tunnels before collecting here in what is officially known as the Metropolitan Outer Area Underground Discharge Channel.Facilities like this one help protect Tokyo from a changing climate being tracked by Tokyo University professor of environmental science and climate risk Seita Emori.::Seita EmoriTokyo University Professor"We are now in a long-term warming trend, so we anticipate that previously unseen record amounts of rain will fall as the temperature rises in the future."::July 6, 2024The summer of 2024 was the hottest since records began in 1898, Japan's weather agency said in September. In Tokyo, sudden, violent storms known as "guerrilla" downpours have become increasingly common.Tokyo’s flood defenses went into action on August 30th as security cameras captured water pouring into the underground cathedral as a typhoon lashed southwest Japan nearly 400 miles away.The system kicked in four times in June, more than all of last year. During Typhoon Shanshan, it captured enough water to fill the Tokyo Dome baseball stadium almost four times, before pumping it safely into the Edogawa River and out to sea.::July 17, 2024Work is also underway using a colossal tunneling machine to ground a path through the earth below Tokyo.The aim is to capture vast quantities of rain that might otherwise flood the streets above.