By: Tate Ornelas
Hurricane Milton was named the second most intense storm to ever hit the gulf coast, behind Hurricane Rita in 2005. Hurricane Milton hit Florida directly, only a short time after Hurricane Helene made its way through the United States. Before becoming a Hurricane on Oct 7, Milton was a tropical disturbance in the western Carribean Sea. Milton had a pressure of 897 millibars which made it the fifth most intense storm in the Atlantic ever.
The Independent wrote an article on Hurricane Milton on how it was the “storm of the century.” In fact, meteorologists believe the hurricane spawned 41 tornadoes, but they claim the count could be even higher. Between the storm surge, tornadoes, wind and rain, Milton caused damage all across the state. There have been reports that alligators and other animals that are usually far away from residential areas have been spotted in people’s backyards. Any seawalls or levy’s that failed caused widespread flooding in the area. This not only includes residential areas, but also factories, large corporations, and small businesses as well.
The Independent also reported that those living in Florida have been recovering from the last hurricane, Hurricane Helene, and now Hurricane Milton is setting those people back. There have been many counties in the state of Florida that have extended a state of emergency to help in the recovery process. The death toll for Hurricane Milton is 14 thus far, but continues to rise as recovery efforts are being made. There are still millions of people affected by the storm without power, and with some areas under a good amount of water, it could be quite some time before power comes back on. With hurricane damage comes a cost to fix it. Hurricane Milton is believed to have caused 17 to 28 billion dollars in damage, but this is a rough estimate. The costliest hurricane in the United States was Hurricane Ian which hit in 2022. There is still a lot of recovery to be made from Hurricane Milton, which will continue to affect those in its path for the foreseeable future.
