Third Time’s the Charm
The Damage From Hurricane Milton
On Oct. 9, Hurricane Milton made landfall in Siesta Key, a city on Florida’s central west coast. The storm transformed from a Category 5 with 180-mph winds to a still-dangerous Category 3 with 120-mph winds over the span of three days. It is the second Category 5 hurricane and the third hurricane to make landfall in Florida this season.
The hurricane caused storm surge throughout Central Florida, with the worst being in Sarasota county. The storm surge was 8-10 feet, and there were other reports of storm surge in Fort Myers and Naples, reaching 5-6 feet.
“To have right on the back of Helene, to have Milton come and hit some of the same areas twice, with unbelievable flooding, I think the future impacts are undeniable,” sixth grade science teacher Cameron Barton said.
As a result of the hurricane, large amounts of rainfall affected the areas around the hurricane’s center, causing flooding throughout the gulf coast. The highest recorded rainfall was 18.87 inches in Saint Petersburg. Outside of the rainfall, tornadoes caused destruction throughout South Florida. There were 126 tornado warnings issued, the highest issued in Florida for one day.
“We did not get the worst-case scenario,” Governor Ron DeSantis said. “But we did get hit, and we’re going to have to work to bounce back.”
According to poweroutage.us, after the storm, more than 3.4 million homes were without power. There was also a scarcity of gasoline in areas, such as Tampa, due to the lines of traffic. There were 149 public shelters set up, with a capacity of 200,000 people, for those who could not or did not wish to evacuate. At least 16 people have died in connection to the hurricane, and there were about 1,200 people rescued throughout the state of Florida.
“With the recent hurricanes, I believe Floridians are having to take a deep, hard look at impacts, specifically with flooding and sea level change,” Barton said. “I think the big question is going to be whether people decide, after this Milton hurricane, whether it’s time to move to higher ground and higher elevation.”
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