AAP FACTCHECK – Australian “United Nations buildings” are linked to the formation of Hurricane Milton in Florida, a social media user claims.
This is false. The facilities identified by the man as a “United Nations building and complex” are actually Australia’s old and new Parliament House in Canberra.
Hurricane Milton was formed by warm waters, high wind speed and low pressure.
The social media user has posted videos in which he suggests UN buildings, including the misidentified Parliament House, are in some way responsible for the formation of the storm.
“Hurricane Milton is coming from the west, so what’s to the west? Oh, Australia, I wonder if they have any United Nations buildings in Australia,” he says in front of a Google map zooming in on Parliament House.
The map tags the United Nations Information Centre at Old Parliament House.
However, the man then zooms into Parliament House and, in particular, the forecourt.
“Let’s take a closer look at this United Nations building and complex and see what we find,” he says.
He zooms in further on a mosaic in the new forecourt featuring an Indigenous design, describing it as a “funny looking symbol”, and comparing it to the spiral shape of a satellite image of a hurricane.
The man then points to the Australian Parliament House flag pole, calling it a “space needle-looking” thing.
“What in the world is that?” he says. “Let’s put a pyramid under a giant needle.”
He continues: “Look at that angle, just happens to have on something that Florida is about to experience.”
Hurricane Milton formed in the Gulf of Mexico and rapidly intensified in part due to near-record warmth in the Atlantic Ocean, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
It said Milton’s maximum sustained wind speeds reached up to 180 miles per hour (about 290kph) on Monday.
The NOAA also explained online that lower pressure typically indicates a stronger hurricane.
Associated Press reported that when winds reached their peak, Milton’s pressure “was among the lowest recorded in the Gulf of Mexico this late in the year”.
The Verdict
False – The claim is inaccurate.
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