Aftermath: The Storm Helene and Milton left behind

Nessa Brown




Aftermath: The storm Helene and Milton left behind


It’s not a secret that Hurricanes Helene and Milton were disastrous. Two historical storms,


only 13 days apart from each other, absolutely tore through Florida and surrounding states.


I've written about what happened during the storms and people’s stories from them. But


when the rain and wind finally stopped, it left debris littering the street for civilians to clean.


Hurricane Helene


In Florida, the total wind and flood losses from Helene were $30.5 to $47.5 billion (Robin


Wachner, “CoreLogic: Final Estimated Damages for Hurricane Helene to be between $30.5


Billion and $47.5 Billion” weather.gov). Helene caused billions of dollars in damages all


throughout Florida into North Carolina. Although Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina were


hit hard by Helene, the most damage occurred in the mountains of North Carolina. 


North Carolina experienced four days worth of rain. Small creeks transformed into violent


rushing rivers, which flooded roads, towns, and neighborhoods all throughout the mountains


(Hailey Thiem and Rebecca Lindsey, “Hurricane Helene’s extreme rainfall and catastrophic


inland flooding” climate.gov). 


I believe the Hurricane Helene clean-up officially concluded around January 2025. Initial


reports from NBC News quoted Governor Ron Desantis explaining that “in counties like


Manatee, Sarasota, and Pinellas, they were able to remove 55,000 cubic yards of debris. So


that’s over 3,000 truckloads of debris.". Within 48 hours, clean-up crews had gathered


55,000 cubic yards of debris left by the storm. 


Hurricane Milton


Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton combined caused over $1000 billion in damages


across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. CoreLogic’s estimate of total


losses from Hurricane Milton will be $21 to $34 billion (Robin Wacher, “CoreLogic:


Hurricane Milton Wind, Flood, Cause an Estimated $17B to $28B in Insyred Losses After


Unusual Landfall Activity” corelogic.com) When Hurricane Milton hit Floridians, they were


still recovering from Hurricane Helene. 


Milton hit Florida full force, kicking us while we were down from Helene, but the most


compromised area of Florida was Sarasota County. Hurricane Helene brought raging 8 to 10


feet of storm surge all across Sarasota County. (Gray rohrer, “ Hurricane Milton mauls


Florida: City and county guide to death, misery, and destruction” tallahasse.com) The storm


landed in Siesta Key, Florida, and tore hundreds of houses to shreds. 


FEMA gave a deadline to finish all of the hurricane clean-up by January 2025, though I’m


pretty sure they gave extra time, but they had managed to finish most of the clean-up in


December. Not only were people cleaning up what they had lost from Helene, but many of


them were now cleaning up even more debris from Milton. I remember the sides of streets


being littered with water-soaked couches and kitchen tables. They had no where to put their


ruined belongings before the next storm arrived. 


Resources for those affected by the hurricane

For those seeking assistance, here are some organizations providing relief and support


  • Global Empowerment Mission

  • Mercy Chefs

  • Hurricane Help Florida


Sources 

  • “As Hurricane Milton Approaches, Florida Residents Worry About Helene Debris.” NBC News, 11 Oct. 2024, www.nbcnews.com 

  • CoreLogic. “CoreLogic: Final Estimated Damages for Hurricane Helene to Be Between $30.5 Billion and $47.5 Billion | CoreLogic®.” CoreLogic®, 5 Oct. 2024, www.corelogic.com 

  • “CoreLogic: Hurricane Milton Wind, Flood Cause an Estimated $17B to $28B in Insured Losses After Unusual Landfall Activity | CoreLogic®.” CoreLogic®, 17 Oct. 2024, www.corelogic.com 

  • “Hurricane Helene’s Extreme Rainfall and Catastrophic Inland Flooding.” NOAA Climate.gov, 7 Nov. 2024, www.climate.gov 

  • “---.” NBC News, 11 Oct. 2024, www.nbcnews.com 

  • “---.” NBC News, 11 Oct. 2024, www.nbcnews.com

  • “Hurricane Recovery Milestone: Tampa Completes Cleanup Ahead of Christmas.” City of Tampa, 4 Dec. 2024, www.tampa.gov 

  • Rohrer, Gray. “Hurricane Milton Mauls Florida: City and County Guide to Death, Misery and Destruction.” Tallahassee Democrat, 10 Oct. 2024, www.tallahassee.com

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