St. Petersburg: Hurricane Milton marched across central Florida on Thursday after making landfall on the state's west coast hours earlier, whipping up deadly tornadoes, destroying homes and knocking out power to nearly 2 million customers.

The storm made landfall around 8:30pm EDT on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour (195 kph) near Siesta Key, the US National Hurricane Center said.

By early Thursday, wind speeds reduced to a still dangerous 90 mph (150 kph), dropping Milton to a Category 1 hurricane, with heavy rains and damaging storm surges. The hurricane was located about 45 miles west-southwest of Cape Canaveral, home to NASA's Space Force Station.

A flash flood emergency was in effect for the Tampa Bay area including the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, the hurricane center said, with St. Petersburg already receiving 16.6 inches of rain on Wednesday.

The eye of the storm made landfall in Siesta Key, a barrier island town of some 5,400 off Sarasota about 60 miles south of the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, which is home to more than 3 million people.

Governor Ron DeSantis said he hoped Tampa Bay, once seen as the potential bull's eye, could dodge major damage and that the worst of the predicted storm surge could be avoided thanks to the landfall coming before the high tide. Forecasters said seawater could still rise as high as 13 feet.

DeSantis reported Milton had also spawned at least 19 tornadoes caused damage in numerous counties, destroying around 125 homes, most of them mobile homes.

“At this point, it's too dangerous to evacuate safely, so you have to shelter in place and just hunker down,” DeSantis said upon announcing the landfall.

At least two deaths were reported at a retirement community following a suspected tornado in Fort Pierce on the eastern coast of Florida, NBC News reported, citing St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson. His department did not immediately respond to a request for details.

Pearson estimated 100 homes were destroyed in the county where some 17 tornadoes touched down, NBC said.

More than 2 million homes and businesses in Florida were without power, according to PowerOutage.us.

The storm was expected to cross the Florida peninsula overnight and emerge into the Atlantic, still with hurricane force, on Thursday.

Milton is forecast to maintain hurricane intensity while crossing Florida later on Thursday morning but after moving into the Atlantic it is likely to gradually lose tropical characteristics and slowly weaken, the Hurricane Center added.

In a state already battered by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, as many as two million people were ordered to evacuate, and millions more live in the projected path of the storm.

Much of the southern US experienced the deadly force of Hurricane Helene as it cut a swath of devastation through Florida and several other states. Both storms are expected to cause billions of dollars in damage.

US President Joe Biden was briefed by emergency authorities on the initial impacts of the hurricane, according to a White House statement.

Zoo Animals Protected

While human evacuees jammed the highways and created gasoline shortages, animals including African elephants, Caribbean flamingos and pygmy hippos were riding out the storm at Tampa's zoo.

Nearly a quarter of Florida's gasoline stations were out of fuel on Wednesday afternoon.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency had moved millions of liters (gallons) of water, millions of meals and other supplies and personnel into the area. None of the additional aid will detract from recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene, the agency's administrator, Deanne Criswell, said earlier on Wednesday.

Trucks have been running 24 hours a day to clear mounds of debris left behind by Helene before Milton potentially turned them into dangerous projectiles, DeSantis said.

About 9,000 National Guard personnel were deployed in Florida, ready to assist recovery efforts, as were 50,000 electricity grid workers in anticipating of widespread power outages, DeSantis said.

Search-and-rescue teams were prepared to head out as soon as the storm passes, working through the night if needed, DeSantis said.

“It's going to mean pretty much all the rescues are going to be done in the dark, in the middle of the night, but that's fine. They're going to do that,” DeSantis said.

SOURCE: REUTERS

Karachi: The University of Karachi awarded an honorary doctorate to world-renowned Islamic scholar Dr Zakir Naik.

A simple and dignified ceremony of the University of Karachi was held at the Governor House, in which the Chancellor of the University and Governor of Sindh Kamran Khan Tesori conferred the honorary degree of PhD on Dr Zakir Naik.

Addressing the ceremony, Sindh Governor and University of Karachi Chancellor Kamran Tesori said that Dr Zakir was awarded an honorary degree for his services. ‘I congratulate him on receiving an honorary doctorate’.

Kamran Tesori further said that Dr Zakir Naik is very popular in the Muslim world. He has delivered thousands of lectures and recorded many debates all over the world. ‘I am sure that Dr Zakir Naik will continue his services in the same way’.

A large number of Consul Generals of different countries, Sindh Higher Education Commission Chairman Professor Dr Tariq Rafi, Sheikh Al-Jamia Karachi Professor Khalid Iraqi, Mufti Abdul Rahim, Deans, Professors, and teachers participated in the ceremony.

Islamabad: On complaints of irregularities in the admission test for admission to the Medical and Dental College, the Federal Ministry of Health directed the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to abolish the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT).

The Senate Standing Committee on Health also expressed concern over the irregularities in MDCAT and Prime Minister's Coordinator Dr Malik Mukhtar has directed to replace MDCAT with an international-style IT-based system from next year.

Dr Malik Mukhtar said that the powerful mafia has been trying to influence the MDCAT exam for many years. The academies that prepare for the exam also do business worth billions of rupees and influence the exam.

Senate Standing Committee on Health Chairman Aamir Chishti also directed to scrap MDCAT and replace it with an online system like the American SAT or Cambridge.

Dr Mukhtar, while briefing the Senate Standing Committee, said that according to the Intelligence Bureau, there is no evidence of the MDCAT paper leak this time.