The storm came close to the coast as a Category 3, but was downgraded to Category 1, with winds of up to 150 kilometers per hour. The emergency warning remains in force. Hurricane Milton left a trail of destruction on the coast of Florida, in the United States, this Wednesday (09/10), causing tornadoes and floods in a state that had already been hit by another large-scale storm. Before.
Nearly three million Florida homes remained without power after the hurricane made landfall as a Category 3 storm around 9:30 p.m. Winds reached 195 kilometers per hour.
The hurricane spawned tornadoes ahead of its landfall, with reports of “multiple fatalities” confirmed by police after strong winds hit a retirement community on Florida’s east coast. So far at least two victims have been confirmed by a police officer to the American media.
At least 18 tornadoes preceded the hurricane and have been confirmed to date. But the U.S. National Weather Service issued more than 100 warnings of possible tornadoes across the state, a single-day record.
Floods and heavy rains
Local authorities also reported severe flooding in the cities of Naples and Fort Myers, on the west coast of Florida, where the water level exceeded one meter above the ground.
In the Tampa Bay region, up to 300 millimeters of rain was recorded in a few hours.
In the city of Sarasota, near Siesta Key, gusts of wind tore glass from buildings on the shore. The streets were empty and the trees swayed almost horizontally, barely holding on to the wind. Companies built barricades with sandbags to prevent the destruction of buildings.
In the early hours of the morning, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wrote on his personal account on X that the storm had arrived and it would no longer be safe to leave the state.
“It is very dangerous to evacuate safely right now, so you need to protect yourself,” he wrote. According to the governor, 9,000 National Guard officers are on hand to help with relief efforts and 50,000 professionals are working to fix problems in the power grid.
Milton has weakened to Category 1
Overnight, the hurricane weakened to a Category 1 storm, but continued to pack strong winds of up to 90 miles per hour Thursday morning, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC).
“Rain and very strong winds continue across much of Central Florida. Flash flood emergencies remain in effect,” the NHC warned.
The expectation for Thursday morning is that Milton will move further inland, passing through the resort town of Orlando – home to Disney World. Once it reaches the Atlantic Ocean, however, it is expected to lose strength, according to the NHC.
Climate change worsens extreme events
Scientists say extreme precipitation is occurring with greater severity and frequency as temperatures rise due to climate change. Because warmer ocean surfaces release more water vapor, they provide more energy for storms to form.
Milton comes just two weeks after another major hurricane, Helene, devastated Florida and other Southeastern states. With at least 235 people killed, Helene was the second deadliest hurricane to hit the continental United States in more than half a century, after Katrina, which devastated the state of Louisiana in 2005, resulting in nearly 1,400 deaths.
To date, the destruction caused by Milton, considered the most devastating hurricane of the century, has been less than that of Helene.
Fake news
US presidential candidate Donald Trump sought political advantage by claiming, without evidence, that financial aid to fight the storms was channeled to migrants and not residents.
At the White House on Wednesday, President Biden criticized Trump’s “onslaught of lies.” “There has been a reckless, irresponsible and relentless promotion of misinformation and outright lies,” Biden said.
gq (reuters, ap, afp, dw)
Source: Terra
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