Hurricane Milton will change how we think about Florida

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Clearwater Beach, on Florida’s west coast, is one of the leading holiday destinations in the US (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Before Hurricane Milton hits Florida’s west coast, millions have been evacuated (“Florida residents warned ‘this is the 11th hour’ as Category 4 storm to make landfall”, Wednesday 9 October).

Officials have predicted up to 18in of rainfall and 15ft of storm surge, meaning much of the Florida panhandle will be submerged by the temporary rise in sea levels.

The bill for repairs will be huge. I’m sure that many are hoping that insurance companies will cover the damage that will inevitably be caused by this “once in a century” direct hit.

But, as our oceans warm, polar ice melts and sea levels rise, disasters caused by phenomena such as Hurricane Milton will only increase in frequency.

However painful, it is time to rethink our relationship with places like Florida. People need to move to higher ground. Rebuilding on low-lying coastlines in a time of climate change is futile.

Ian Reid

Kilnwick

Give Starmer a break

It is an unexpected sadness that the new Labour government has seemed so out of touch with the electorate (“The Budget will give the prime minister a chance to correct his mistakes”, Monday 7 October).

Keir Starmer and others accepting “freebies” from a supporter was a great mistake, and reminiscent of Tory party behaviour.

But whatever the reason for the downturn in Labour’s support since its election win, those who doubt this government’s ability to improve our standard of living must wait for the Budget to judge.

We expect nothing less than a framework for improvements to our infrastructure, to the NHS and to our social services. Not an easy task, I know – but Britain is really in the doldrums, parked in a backwater by the Tories’ inability to provide a future for our children.

Let’s give the government longer to show us what it can do for all of us.

Keith Poole

Basingstoke

Labour’s silver lining

Rachel Reeves says scrapping winter fuel payments will put £1.4bn towards their ever-growing “black hole” (“Shock analysis shows four in every five pensioners struggling with money will see winter fuel payment cut”, Thursday 8 October). But I believe the government may have underestimated how much this measure will save.

No 10 should factor in the extra cash they will save by not having to fork out state pensions to the 4,000 retirees predicted to be killed off in the colder months. That could send an additional £50m a year into the government’s coffers.

Then, once the old folks are dead and buried, there will be an abundance of social housing available.

So, as they say, every cloud...

Peter Flynn

Sheffield

Jews are not responsible for Israel’s actions in Gaza

By repeating the claim that October 7 was “the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust”, Mark Almond perpetuates a narrative eagerly promoted by Israel to justify its mass killing of Palestinians (“Could the unremitting fury over October 7 be the end of Israel?”, Monday 7 October). It also plays into the hands of antisemites.

The Holocaust was laser-focused on Jews; the October 7 incursion and subsequent rocket and missile attacks by Hamas were targeted at Israelis, more than a quarter of whom are non-Jews, including 2 million Arabs. The rockets and missiles falling on Israeli villages and cities do not differentiate between Arab and Jew; they are indiscriminate.

Conflating Jews with Israel gives Jews a bad name, aiding and abetting anti-Jewish sentiments.

Khidori Abrahim

London

A little detective work

Not wishing to appear a nerd, but there are a few factual errors in Nick Duerden’s Ian Rankin interview (“30 years of Rebus: ‘Trust me, I’ve tried to kill him off many times’", Wednesday 9 October).

The first Rebus book was Knots and Crosses, not The Flood. I do not recall Rebus appearing in the latter book. And John Hannah preceded Ken Stott in the ITV series.

Philip Middlemast

Ealing

More hot air

I couldn’t agree more with Mohamed Adow about carbon capture (Letters: "Labour has been sucked in by the carbon capture ‘con’", Tuesday 8 October).

Governments should concentrate on reducing reliance on fossil fuels, not being sucked in by fairytale technology promoted by energy companies.

If the Labour government goes ahead with its plans and spends some £22bn on carbon capture projects, it could easily become their HS2 moment. This will be a very expensive white elephant.

David Felton

Crewe