Waiting for Hurricane Milton in hotel (live)

The mayor of Tampa said if you stay in Tampa, you will die. Dead. Evacuate now.

• VIDEO: Walt Disney World Resort livestreams Milton

LIVE: Hurricane Milton coverage

(USA TODAY) Already powerful Hurricane Milton was again gaining strength Tuesday and could double in size before slamming into west-central Florida in what could be one of the "most destructive hurricanes on record" late Wednesday. The National Hurricane Center issued the warning Tuesday, saying damaging winds, life-threatening storm surge [of over 12 feet], and heavy rainfall will extend well outside the forecast cone. Hurricane warning maps show Florida blanketed in red and orange alerts. "Air Force reserve hurricane hunters find that Milton's intensity has rebounded," the hurricane center said in an advisory Tuesday afternoon. Milton had undergone stunningly rapid intensification Monday, its sustained winds reaching 180 mph. By Tuesday the wind speed dropped dramatically although still a fierce Category 4 storm. It climbed back to 155 Tuesday afternoon, just below Category 5 status. Fluctuations were expected as the storm closes in on Florida, said John Cangialosi, a specialist with the National Hurricane Center. Audio provided in part by iHeartRadio iheart.com/live/247-news...

• Terrifying footage: weather.com
• Controversial influencer Caroline Calloway says she's going to die in Hurricane Milton for refusing to evacuate house
• Florida Democrat shuts down Marjorie Taylor Greene for telling everyone outside of government that we can control the weather by machine

Allison Gilgenbach is hunkering down ahead of the big, bad hurricane with her daughters Reagan, 11 (left) and 8-year-old Reagan (courtesy of Allison Gilgenbach)

.

I'm waiting out Hurricane Milton in a Universal Studios Hotel with my daughters. We're not scared.

How will we survive? The trick is to wait out Hurricane Milton in a city far, faraway, like one on vacation in Buddhist Asia, in this case Japan's second city of Osaka.

(INSIDER) My family of three paid $650 to enter early and skip the lines at Universal Studios. Similar perks would've cost us double back home in Florida.

For that price, my family and I got upgraded tickets to Universal Studios Japan in Osaka. Having early access to the park and express passes for rides saved us hours of waiting in lines. We're in no hurry to get back to Florida.

Shitennoji Temple, Osaka: Discover one the oldest Buddhist temples in Japan

(TT Travel Photography) Here are photos taken at Shitennoji Temple, the first and oldest Buddhist temple in Japan. It is one the most important sites to see here. Comment and contact for more info, always happy to share! #city #osaka #travelphotography Music: Modern Time - An Jone / Crazy - Patrick Patrikios.

Visible from "space" 20 miles up in low orbit

Tickets to Universal parks in the U.S. can cost twice as much, so it was a great value. As a longtime Florida resident, I've been to Universal Studios Orlando many times. So on a recent trip to Japan, my family decided to explore the Universal theme park in Osaka. We can watch the storm on TV.

We only had one day to see everything — and it's one of the most popular theme parks in the world — so we wanted to make the most of our vacation.

The best way to do that was splurging on early entry park tickets and express line passes for all of us. Here's everything we accomplished during our visit. I'm waiting out Hurricane Milton in a Universal Studios hotel with my daughters. We're not scared.

• YouTube mom’s child abuse scandal ends in $1.85 mil settlement
• This new camera could film it (shop.panasonic.com/pages/lumix-s9)
• Story by Jane Ridley (jridley@insider.com), Insider via MSN.com, Oct. 9, 2024; Ashley Wells, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly