Hurricane Milton: The Storm That Caught Florida By Suprise


Nessa Brown

Hurricane Milton: The Storm That Caught Florida By Suprise  


Hurricane Helene was reported as a historical, catastrophic storm that caused over $50 billion

 in damage just in North Carolina. It misplaced thousands of people in the south. It was

 absolutely destructive and put everyone’s life on hold. (Angell, Gabriel, “Helene Caused

 Atleast $53 Billion In Damage in North Carolina, Governor Says,” foxweather.com) 


But eleven days later, Tropical Storm Milton started to grow in the Gulf of Mexico. Citizens

 were frantically trying to clean up their flooded, crumbling, battered houses and clean all of

 their destroyed life belongings off of their front yard. Not even 13 days went by after a

 historical storm like Helene, and we had another category 5 hurricane coming straight at

 Florida. 

I wrote in my journal at the time, October 7, 2024, that I was watching the 5 o’clock

advisory, and the news stated that Milton was stronger than Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane

Milton was barreling at us with 180-190 mph winds. (Maisie, Brown. 2024. My Own

Journal). The eye was so small it was shocking to look at, which is what made Milton so

dangerous—the small eye that was only 3 miles long. Seeing such a large storm that covered

 most of Florida with an eye that measured 3 miles long was terrifying, to say the least. 


Hurricane Milton washed over Florida overnight on October 9, 2024. Not only did Milton

 cause massive destruction, it caused an estimated $50 billion in damages, as stated by Joe

 Biden. (Saskia, O’Donoghue, 2024, “Hurricane Milton Costs Florida Billions In Damage

 and Wreaks Havoc On Countless Lives,” euronews.com) 


Milton affected a variety of people, no matter their occupation. Small businesses, corporate

 offices, postal services, grocery stores—it doesn’t matter where you worked; Milton did not

 discriminate. For example, my dad, who is a mover, said that “from the date of the storms, it

 will have an affect on my industry for the next 6 to 8 months. As for people moving, they

 cannot move because there are not enough houses. Houses are still damaged; the system will

 not let people move back in. That impacts the moving industry and slows it down

 astronomically.”


People who were compromised by the storm were still cleaning up when Hurricane Milton

 arrived. There are people to this day, as of writing, who are still rehabilitating. Apartments

 have waitlists for over three years, houses are too expensive to get into, and people are

still homeless and recovering from what these hurricanes did. 


Resources for those affected by hurricane Milton

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

● American Red Cross

● United Way Of Central Florida

● Community Foundation Tampa Bay


Sources 

  ● “Yet another hurricane wetter, windier, and more destructive because of climate change” 11 Oct, 2024. World Weather Attribution

 ● Angell, Gabriel. “Helene caused atleast $53 billion in damage in North Carolina, governor says” Fox Weather, 24 Oct, 2024. Fox News

 ● Anthony, Talcot. “Hurricane Milton had a ‘pinhole eye’. Here’s what that means for Florida” 8 Oct, 2024. Click Orlando

● Cheryl, MCcloud.”Hurricane Milton just hot Florida over 2 weeks ago” 28, Oct 2024. Naples Daily News

● Saskia O’Donoghue. “Hurricane Milton costs Florida billions in damage and wreaks havoc on countless lives” 14 Oct, 2024. Euronews


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hurricane Helene: The Storm That Brought Havoc To Floridians

Image
Nessa Brown Hurricane Helene: The Storm That Brought Havoc To Floridians     It was Tuesday, September 23, 2024. We were told that a tropical storm named Helene was heading our way. At first, no one was particularly concerned—most Floridians see tropical storms as nothing more than some wind and rain. But within days, we learned that Helene strengthened. By September 26, it had developed into a Category 4 hurricane with 130-mph winds, hurtling toward Florida. Hurricane Helene was a historic storm—the strongest to hit the Big Bend region since 1851 (Morgan, Michelle, “Historic Helene Is 3rd Hurricane to Hit Florida’s Big Bend Region in  the Last  Three Months,” ClickOrlando). The devastation extended beyond Florida, impacting states like  Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. As the storm neared, an eerie tension settled over Florida. Thousands took to social media, offering support and advice to newcomers unfamiliar with hurricane preparations. Others cop...
Read more

2004 to 2024: Destructive Deja vu

Image
  Nessa Brown 2004 to 2024: Destructive Deja Vu Hurricanes Helene and Milton absolutely assaulted Floridians. These two strong hurricanes washed over Florida a mere 13 days apart. People were trying to recover from the first hurricane when another came shortly after. But this is not the first time that two hurricanes have attacked Florida one after another. In 2004, from August to September, Florida experienced four major hurricanes. Their names were Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne. Hurricane Charley Hurricane Charley, after abruptly changing direction, arrived in Port Charlotte, Florida, on August 12, 2004. This was the first of a chain of four major hurricanes to hit Florida during the 2004 hurricane season. Charley was a category 4 hurricane with 140 mi/hr winds (“Charley” weather.gov) Hurricane Charley was considered a smaller storm but was still very powerful. Over all, Charley cost Florida about $14.6 billion in damages. (“2004-- Hurricane Charley” hurricanesciene.org) Thi...
Read more

2025: Remembering Helene and Milton

Image
Nessa Brown 2025: Remembering Helene and Milton Although most of my blog has been written in 2025, Florida is still feeling the effects from Helene and Milton. The 2024 hurricane season demolished many beloved spaces near and far from where I write and they are still being rebuilt. Individuals are still getting back on their feet, still trying to get help from the government, and still rehabilitating from Helene and Milton as of 2025. The storms may have been only a few days long, but for the states they tore through, the repercussions will be there for years.  Great quantities of Floridians, most of them who are located in Pinellas, are actually raising their homes to avoid the storm surge. These people are raising them 10–11 feet to avoid the flood zone. (Michreal, Paluska. “Rising Above the Flood: Floridians lifting their homes above the surge” ABC Action News, abcactionnews.com) FEMA calls it the FPE, meaning Flood Protection Elavation. There are two options for raising your ...
Read more