this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at 103m. hurricane irma strengthens as it closes in on florida where it is expected to make landfall in a matter of hours. over six million people have been ordered to leave their homes. property is replaceable but lives are not and safety have to come first. don't worry about it. just get out of its way. overnight cuba has been battered. there's been significant damage as winds of up to 150 miles per hour hit the country's north coast. this is the bbc havana bureau and i am speaking from inside it because we simply can't go outside any more. at least 25 people have died across the caribbean including five on the british virgin islands wherein major relief effort is getting under way. in mexico at least 90 people are known to have died after thursday's earthquake. also in the next hour:

rohingya muslims rebels in myanmar declare one month unilateral ceasefire. they say their aim is to ease the humanitarian crisis but there is desperate need for food and water for around there is desperate need for food and waterfor around 300,000 there is desperate need for food and water for around 300,000 rohingya muslims refugees. the stars of strictly pay an emotional tribute to the show‘s former host sir bruce forsyth who died in august at the age of 89. good morning and welcome to bbc news. after battering its way through the caribbean, hurricane irma, currently a category four storm, is within hours of hitting the us coast. the storm made landfall in cuba late on friday, causing widespread damage and leaving whole

communities homeless. the hurricane is now inching towards the southern coast of florida, where a huge storm surge is expected. water levels are already flooding roads in the florida keys and more than 200,000 people have lost power. over 6 million people, almost a third of the state's population, had been urged to evacuate, but the state governor told residents yesterday, it's now too late for anyone remaining to leave. we can go live to cbs correspondent mike 0liver in miami. what is the picture there right now? then, we are starting to see powerful gusts of wind picking up from time to time and we are seeing more torrential downpours that last review second and then they move on. as you mentioned, this is still a powerful hurricane. it has regained strength and is now category four and it is

bearing towards the florida keys is expected to hit the lower keys in the next few hours and as we have seen it has made a dramatic shift. it is going to head up the west coast with a bull's—eye the st petersburg, which has not had a massive hit from a hurricane like this in nearly a century. we are on the dirty side of this hurricane, the dirty side of this hurricane, the eastside. here in miami we are seeing an increased threat of tornadoes, hurricane force winds, and of course more rain. the storm surge could still rise up to six feet along the miami coast. just to the north, they have decreased the storm surge threat there. as you mention, 200,000 people have lost power already, and tens of thousands of people are hunkered down in shelters waiting this massive storm out. thank you very much. meg oliver in miami. let's get this report now

ona in miami. let's get this report now on a more general situation in florida. jane o'brien reports on how that state has been dealing with hurricane irma. the west coast was supposed to be the safer part of florida as the east prepared to bear the brunt of irma. but now cities like tampa and naples are in the path of a category four hurricane. tampa hasn't seen anything like this since 1921 and is ill—prepared for such a storm. at fort myers, thousands of people crowded into a sports stadium in a last—minute dash to find somewhere safe. i think we're going to be staying here for two nights, maybe three. they really don't know where the storm is going to go exactly, so we have no way of knowing. we are all waiting for it to start and end. irma could shift course again. hurricanes are notorious for sudden wobbles. but the giant system is already too close to make much difference. this is a deadly, major storm and our state has never seen anything like it. millions of floridians will see major hurricane impacts with deadly,

deadly, deadly storm surge. by a life—threatening storm surge of up to 15 feet as it moved relentlessly towards the mainland. tornado watchers were also in place. in miami there was a collective sigh of relief. the city looks likely to escape the deadly cone. but hurricane force winds are still expected through sunday. an estimated 75,000 people are now thought to be taking refuge in shelters. over six million have been asked to leave their homes in the biggest evacuation in the history of florida. the entire state is expected to suffer. the only question now is how much. jane o'brien, bbc news, miami. we have heard warnings were 6

million people in the state of florida to leave their homes. president trump has echoed the calls for residents to seek shelter. this is a storm of enormous destructive power, and we ask everyone in the storm path to heed all instructions, get out of its way. government officials, i know you're working so hard, you'll never work like this, and i appreciate also your bravery. property is replaceable but lives are not. safety has to come first. don't worry about it, just get out of its way. that was president trump. this is the scene live now in miami. we were just hearing from the cbs correspondent meg oliver. the winds blow very strong indeed but the full force of the hurricane doesn't seem to be getting miami. other areas are in the firing line, as we were hearing. and the keys already being strongly affected by hurricane irma.

that is the situation in miami, very windy, as you can see, with palm trees blowing around. the outer edges of hurricane irma. louise is in the studio to tell us a bit more about what we can expect from hurricane irma. thank you. there is a lot to talk about. i just want to recap on what has happened in the last 2a hours. in actual fact this is jose last 2a hours. in actual fact this isjose which rushed pretty closely toward the leeward iles but is now in open waters. we don't need to worry about that for the time being. but hurricane irma ravaged the coasts. she lost in density and became a ragged storm, but as the storm moved across the warmer waters, it we intend to fight. it is a category four storm now, —— it intensified. it is 60 miles off the coast of florida and is expected to

make landfall across the florida keysin make landfall across the florida keys in the next few hours. we are starting to see the first signs in the keys already with some minor flooding. it is still a huge beast. and it continues to push steadily northwards, the eye of the storm looks to stay to the west coast of florida. we are looking at devastating, damaging gusts, extensive rain, but look at the wind direction. as that bush is behind the hurricane, that is when we could see a significant storm surge developing. into the early half of the week, it will push off into parts of georgia. but take a look at this. this is jose. parts of georgia. but take a look at this. this isjose. at the moment it will meander across the warmer waters. if it gets into the cooler waters, then it could weaken and dissipate. the question is whether it will stay out in the warmer waters or will it move north and west? there is a level of

uncertainty but it could move north and west and a good move towards the us. a lot to play for before then. -- it us. a lot to play for before then. —— it could move towards the us. tell us how hard it is to predict the trajectory of the hurricane. the path of hurricane irma has been spot on, pretty accurate, orwhere path of hurricane irma has been spot on, pretty accurate, or where it has driven along those northern caribbean islands. but the problem with jose will caribbean islands. but the problem withjose will be the sea temperatures, the wind strength and direction. a lot of key ingredients to keep the circulation going. but a lot of uncertainty at the moment and it will just lot of uncertainty at the moment and it willjust sit lot of uncertainty at the moment and it will just sit there for two or three days and keep us all guessing. and the problem with hurricanes, it is not just and the problem with hurricanes, it is notjust the winds and the destruction they bring but the storm surges and the risk of flooding. destruction they bring but the storm surges and the risk of floodinglj think the storm surges are the things that people don't tend to consider if you don't live in hurricane areas. that could be the main issue. the damage, underneath that area of low pressure, it sucks

up that area of low pressure, it sucks up the surface of the ocean by as much as six to 12 feet, and these islands are low lying and the keys low lying and that produces this devastating. chip kasper, is a seniorforecaster with a national weather service in key west. well, yes, hurricane irma is very large and dangerous. it is category four, which means it has maximum sustained winds of 130 mph at its core. in the florida keys we are already getting numerous reports of wind gusts of hurricane force. with the instrument on top of our office here, we recently measured a wind gust of 84 mph. the storm is centred over the straits of florida, just south of the keys, and moving north west at about six miles per hour. it will bring the most

damaging winds onshore to the lower florida keys in a few hours, just after daybreak. there is a hazard notjust of wind but storm surge flooding, which has already begun and will increase through the morning hours. what is its trajectory from now on? you were saying it's already affecting the keys, those hurricane gusts, but what do you expect it to hit in terms of the florida landmass? the hurricane is particularly large and slow—moving right now. in the florida keys, a string of islands extending south—west from the southern tip of the florida peninsula, in the keys, we will experience hurricane force sustained wind, and we will do for several hours, through most of the day into the late afternoon hours. beyond that, the hurricane is

forecast on a path roughlyjust west of due north, really providing impact to most of the florida peninsula, especially the west central florida peninsula, from naples all the way up through the tampa bay area, and perhaps later into tallahassee and the panhandle. in terms of the force of the hurricane, is it as powerful as you feared and expected? we have a category four hurricane, a major hurricane. when hurricanes with this intensity and this size affect a vulnerable population, usually extreme to catastrophic damage occurs and we are probably going to see that, unfortunately, with this storm. and you are in key west. give us an idea of your situation. are you inside?

and are you worried about staying there? no, fortunately we are in a structure which was designed and built to withstand a category five hurricane. we are fortified and elevated so that my colleagues and i can do ourjob to help protect and serve the people the keys and also the first responders who are also helping to protect the citizens here. so we are safe, safe and sound, so we can do ourjob. but outside our walls, the wind is howling, we have ripping gales, and damaging winds, wind driven rain, and the water is rising. all right. thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us and to bring us up to date. i know you are extremely busy. chip kasper, forecaster in key west.

on the line is tampa resident ron anderson. he also runs the florida disaster consulting agency. thank you for being with us. what is the picture where you are? we are just starting to get squals of rain and a bit of wind gusts coming through but it is not bad at all yet. are you expecting it in the coming hours to get a lot worse? yes. if it stays on the track that it is forecasted right now, then we will be on the eastern edge of the hurricane winds. many hours from now will it be hitting tampa, do you think? sunday evening, probably 10pm or 11pm, and into monday. what is the atmosphere there? how many people have left? we have heard the evacuation orders. state—wide about 6.5 million people have evacuated storm surge areas.

we don't evacuate inland as much. we just get away from the water. most of the residents that live in the storm surge areas are seeking shelter elsewhere. what are people feeling? how nervous or worried are people about their property? everybody gets concerned about losing everything they own but as the government has been saying, property can be replaced and your life can't. getting safe is a must. are people listening to the authorities and doing what they are advised? yes. surprisingly it has gone very well. most people have gotten out and very few incidents have happened and it went fairly smoothly. what is your situation, ron?

where are you and will you be safe? i am located about a0 miles east of tampa bay. i will not be in any storm surge whatsoever but there will be 12 inches of rain forecast and hurricane sustained winds. florida hasn't really seen anything like this hurricane for decades, has it? since 2004, 2005, before we saw this much activity. is it your understanding that hurricane irma is as strong and powerful now as it was feared to be? do you think it is weakening in any way? no, i do not. simply because the size of the storm is so large that everybody in florida is getting affected. because it has slowed down to six miles per hour, the wind and rain will stay around a lot longer, causing more damage than if it was moving through quickly.

that was ron anderson talking to me earlierfrom that was ron anderson talking to me earlier from tampa in that was ron anderson talking to me earlierfrom tampa in florida. a million cubans have also been evacuated and there are reports of villages being engulfed by storm surges with whole communities left homeless. our correspondent is in the capital of cuba, havana, and he has been assessing for us how the country has coped. well, it has been an extraordinary experience being in cuba during hurricane irma and now it is reaching, it has reached havana. this is the bbc havana bureau and i'm speaking from inside because we simply can't go outside any longer. we're boarding in the building. miraculously we still have electricity but much of the rest of the building does not have that.

as you can see behind me, the window is flexing with the winds that are buffeting the city and it is raining very, very hard out there. that, of course, is nothing in comparison to what cubans further east on the island have already experienced. these are just the last vestiges, really, of hurricane irma as she moves out of cuban territory and into clear water between cuba and the united states before making landfall in florida. but we are still feeling the effects of the sheer magnitude of this storm. out east along the northern coastal zone, whole villages were hit very hard by the storm. we understand that some were largely submerged under water. others have had roofs ripped off scores of houses, and a lot of the roughly one million people

who were evacuated from the area may have no homes to go to. for now, from here in bbc havana bureau, it feels really like the time to hunker down, batten down the hatches and wait out the remnants of this massive storm. will grant reporting from havana. engineers have now completed work on the airport runway in the british virgin islands to allow the first aid flights to land there. pippa mann headquarters will also be set up. so michael fallon, the defence secretary, said operations are now well under way. we have two to three flights going out each day bringing more troops and engineers, medical support, pallets of aid and additional civilian police and helicopters to make sure that the aid can be properly distributed around the islands. the relief operation now is well under way. sir michael fallon, the defence

secretary. and there is plenty more on hurricane irma on our website, bbc.co.uk/news. just a line breaking news coming into us here. this is about two men arrested by police officers from the west midlands police counterterrorism unit on suspicion of terrorism offences and suspicion of terrorism offences and suspicion of being a member of a proscribed organisation, national action, contrary to the terrorism act. we are hearing that both those men, aged 2a, were released without charge following inquiries yesterday. three other men remain in police custody and detectives have been granted extra time to question them. there's been a sharp increase in the number of people known to have been killed by thursday's major earthquake in mexico.

the number now stands at about 90, more than 70 of them in the state of oaxaca alone. aaron safir reports. clearing the rubble injuchitan in southern mexico, the town worst hit by thursday's earthquake. rescuers have told the bbc they don't believe there is anyone left under the 7000 buildings that collapsed here. and while the machines, men and sniffer dogs continue their work, others continue to bury their dead. at least 36 people are reported to have been killed here. among them, this man's son. he didn't have time to get out and the building completely collapsed. it was very old, over 200 years old, and unfortunately out of the seven people who were inside, only four were able to be rescued. the other three unfortunately died. tabasco, chiapas and oaxaca states are among mexico's poorest and least developed. the earthquake that hit them was the most powerful anywhere in the world since 2015.

8.1 in magnitude. tremors were felt in mexico city, some 500 miles away. the earthquake was deep so the shaking felt on the surface was less strong than it would have been for a shallower one. that's little comfort for these people picking up the pieces in juchitan. one in three houses are affected and thousands of families have lost their homes. food and water are scarce and parts of the city don't have electricity. the hundreds of after—shocks felt since thursday have left people fearful. a lot of people are sleeping on the streets because they fear another quake, because they fear the after—shocks that have been happening continuously, and it's a very ugly fear that we're experiencing. the authorities say tens of thousands of ration packs, blankets and cleaning kits are arriving to help the recovery efforts, but for the homeless and bereaved of southern mexico, it is help that can't come soon enough and will only be the first step in rebuilding their lives.

aaron safir, bbc news. rohingya muslim rebels in myanmar have declared a unilateral one—month ceasefire, saying they want to ease the humanitarian crisis in the country. rebel attacks on security forces triggered a two—week military campaign, during which nearly 300,000 rohingyas fled to neighbouring bangladesh. soldiers have been accused of carrying out killings and burning villages. less than four months on from the bomb attack that left 22 people dead, 14,000 people attended the reopening of the manchester arena last night. the we are manchester show included performances from noel gallagher, peter kay and rick astley. our entertainment correspondent colin paterson was there. # so, sally can wait... manchester arena united in song. headliner noel gallagher leading the 14,000 capacity crowd in don't look back in anger,

which became an anthem of unity after the terror attack in may. crowd: don't look back in anger. don't look back in anger, i heard you say. earlier, outside the venue, it was all rather different. there was heightened security, with armed police and longer—than—usual searches on the way in. that wasn't stopping those going from having fun, even if many were experiencing mixed emotions. obviously there is a little bit of scaredness but not as much as excitement. it's the overriding emotion of hope, just to show that the event's open again and what the terrorists did won't overcome us. the langbridge family had bought tickets for the show, despite having been in the foyer when the terrorist bomb went off. scary, nervous but we're here for the 22 people what died. we've got to make memories.

they can't make memories any more, can they? inside, the first people to sit in these seats since the bomb exploded in may. before the concert, greater manchester's mayor read the names of the 22 victims. saffy—rose. of megan. of courtney and philip, of wendy and elaine. and then the poet tony walsh started proceedings. we should give something back. tonight, we will. always remember. never forget. the eclectic line—up also featured peter kay. and i was here on the opening night, 16th july 1995. i were working. £4.10 an hour. afterwards, the consensus was that it had been a very special night. buzzing. proper well good. we came together... whata gig! i can't believe everyone's come together like this. absolutely incredible. itjust made you proud

to be mancunian. and as for the langbridge family on their return to the arena? did you walk through the foyer? yes. how was that? nerve—racking. it took your breath away a little bit. but we had to do it. we will be coming back with kids so we had to do it. this is the first of many more journeys back. this concert had two goals — to raise money for a permanent memorial for those who died, and also to show that manchester arena is open for business. both were achieved. colin paterson, bbc news, manchester. we will get a full sports round—up now. la. good morning. chris froome is set to win cycling's vuelta a espana for the first time this afternoon and with it become only the third rider to win that and the tour de france in the same year.

today's stage is largely a procession into madrid. having finished as runner—up on three occasions, froome called victory an incredible feeling. it is obviously moments like this now that makes all the sacrifices, all the time away from home, from my family, it is moments like these that make it all worth it. obviously it is emotional. it is such an incredible feeling. from the spanish capital to the wealth one today —— welsh one today, as cardiff is the conclusion of the tour of britain. the dutchman finished in the yellow jersey after yesterday's stage into cheltenham. manchester city and manchester united are level on points at the top of the premier league. city's 5—0 thrashing of liverpool helped their goal difference but united remain above them despite the fact they could only draw 2—2 against stoke,

a result that ended their perfect start to the season. iam not i am not satisfied with the point because i think we were the team that try to win, the team that were closer to winning, the team that got the result in the last 20 minutes to win the match. but i have got to say thatis win the match. but i have got to say that is the result that i accept. one thing trying to win, one thing trying to get the point, but they fought hard for that point. watford are up to fourth in the table thanks toa are up to fourth in the table thanks to a 2—0 win at southampton. daryl janmaat scored just after you came off the bench. marco silva is unbeaten in his first four games in charge. august is over so striker harry kane is back among the goals. he scored his 100th for spurs, before promptly adding another in their 3—0 win at everton. elsewhere arsenal beat bournemouth 3—0. a much—needed win. brighton won their first top

flight match for 3h years, 3—1 against west brom. a goal from ngolo kante helped chelsea to a 2—1win over his former side leicester city. later burnley play crystal palace and swansea are at home to newcastle. hearts had the best chances at murrayfield butjoe hearts had the best chances at murrayfield but joe lewis hearts had the best chances at murrayfield butjoe lewis was in very good form indeed. aberdeen moved level on points with celtic but they are behind them on goal difference. as like, motherwell beat kilmarnock for their third league win ina kilmarnock for their third league win in a row and rangers were co mforta ble win in a row and rangers were comfortable winners over dundee and there were draws between ross county and partick thistle, and st johnstone and hibernian. american tennis player sloane stephens has said she might as well retire now because she doesn't think she will because she doesn't think she will be able to top her triumph at the us open. the number 83 thrashed fellow

american madison keys in straight sets at flushing meadows to win her first grand slam title. she only came back to playing competitively earlier this summer after 11 months out with a foot problem. and that is all the sport for now. you can keep up—to—date with all of those stories on the bbc sport website. the great north run is under way with mo farah taking part. you can follow that on the website or on bbc one right now. now it is time for an update the weather. hello. a showery afternoon to come for many today. some of the showers merging in scotland and northern ireland to bring longer spells of rain and squally winds circulating around at low pressure. but further south and east it might stay dry, until dark. winds gusting to gale force around the