(Image via usatoday.com)
Name: Gwen Pichette
Email: gpichette@umassd.edu
“If you choose to stay, you are going to die,” was the grim warning that Tampa mayor Jane Castor gave following the news of the category five hurricane barreling toward the Tampa Bay area.
This blunt warning was an attempt to persuade reluctant citizens who wanted to ride out the storm to evacuate immediately.
Sadly, not everyone took heed of this grave warning.
As of right now, at least 17 people have died across multiple Florida counties, and countless more are missing as searches continue to be underway.
Over 1,600 people and 140 animals have been rescued thus far from treacherous floods, but rescue crews are still working overtime to assist residents who remain trapped.
Particularly people who live in areas where rivers have risen.
31 helicopters and 31 vehicles had to be obtained to make these rescues possible.
More than a whopping two million businesses are without power after enduring 120 mph winds.
Despite this staggering damage, Milton was still not as devastating as projected.
Hurricane Milton was originally projected to make landfall as a category five hurricane, but it ended up leveling out to a category three before hitting right outside Siesta Key, Florida.
Instead, it broke other records.
Hurricane Milton is the second-strongest Gulf Hurricane in recorded history and originally had a predicted 180 mph wind speed.
It also had a historic amount of rainfall, bringing the highest-ever amount of rain in the month of October in certain areas.
Hurricane Milton was also the quickest storm ever recorded to intensify into a Category 5 in the Gulf of Mexico.
What is causing this? Scientists say the culprit is climate change.
Human-caused climate change is reportedly making it easier for hurricanes to intensify into powerful storms, which is what consequently causes more intense wind speed, rainfall, and flooding to coastal areas.
This is already the third hurricane to hit Florida this year and the fifth to hit the United States.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis expressed relief that Milton was not as strong and acknowledged the severe damage: “There’s damage, there’s a lot that’s going to need to be done. We did not get the worst-case scenario, but we did get hit, and we’re going to have to work to bounce back.”
According to President Biden, the damage he’s referring to is estimated to cost $50 billion.
Surprisingly, most of the damage was not brought on by the hurricane itself but by the tornadoes that Hurricane Milton generated.
According to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, there were 30 tornadoes that laid destruction across Florida, which has been a huge wakeup call for preparing for future hurricanes: “When people think about hurricanes when they picture the damage hurricanes are going to cause, they think about winds, and they think about floods. But Milton was a stark reminder of the threats tornadoes pose.”
Other unexpected dangers are arising as well. Including sinkholes opening up along roads, some even preventing evacuated residents from returning to their homes to assess the damage Milton wrought.
Even more alarmingly, they can expand without warning and have been known to swallow up cars or even people unexpectedly.
While all of Florida experienced some trouble, some cities were hit harder than others.
In particular, Punta Gorda, a Florida city, was still scrambling to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Helene before Milton hit.
Following Milton, residents returned to find strangers’ cars and boats strewn about their yards.
Between Milton and Helene hitting just a week and a half apart, Punta Gorda’s downtown area is reportedly entirely decimated, something that has been incredibly traumatic for residents.
This tension is further intensified by other mounting pressures—particularly pressures pertaining to the upcoming election next month.
With the presidential primaries on November 5th, many are outraged as federal judges shot down the attempt for voter registration to be extended despite the herculean clean-up efforts needed for Helene and Milton.
The destruction from the hurricanes will reportedly prevent people from being able to register to vote on time.
This has escalated into an entire lawsuit. But US Federal Judge Eleanor Ross ultimately ruled that these arguments pushed by organizations such as the NAACP, Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda, and the New Georgia Project “lacked clarity and detail” as to how specific individuals were harmed in not being able to vote.
The judge ruled that this extension would merely distract from the election process.
Still, some things are looking up, as many Florida counties have begun to return to some semblance of routine.
In many areas, power has been restored to neighborhoods, gas stations are reopening, and students are preparing to return to school, but there is still much work to be done.
There are also fresh worries on the minds of Florida citizens, as a brewing storm reportedly has a 50% chance of forming into a hurricane—Hurricane Nadine.