- Weather experts consider Milton to be “life-threatening” | Photo: EFE
On Wednesday, October 9, Category 5 Hurricane Milton is expected to hit the state of Florida, United States, which has been on alert since Monday, October 7. The storm surge is also added to this phenomenon.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) defines in its Web page storm surge as an abnormal rise in water level generated by a storm above the predicted astronomical tide.
According to the NHC, tropical storms or hurricanes can cause this rise in sea level with their strong winds on land.
With the arrival of Hurricane Milton, US President Joe Biden insisted on the evacuation of several Florida counties and considered that this could be the worst storm that country has seen in 100 years.
“The time to evacuate is now (…) It is a matter of life or death,” added the president in a press conference on Tuesday, October 8.
What can cause a storm surge?
When a storm surge causes water levels to rise, it can cause extreme flooding in coastal areas, especially when it coincides with the normal tide. This situation can cause tides of up to 6 meters or even more, in some cases.
“Storm surge is a very complex phenomenon because it is sensitive to the slightest changes in the intensity of the storm, the speed of advance, the size (radius of maximum winds), the angle of approach to the coast and the shape and characteristics of the coast,” details the NHC.
Likewise, the prolonged buffeting of frequent waves generated by this phenomenon can demolish any structure that is not specifically designed to withstand such forces.
In addition, waves can also severely erode beaches and coastal roads, which can weaken infrastructure that survives a hurricane.
Other damage that the storm surge can cause is the death of vegetation due to the flooding of salt water on the land and the escape of animals such as snakes and alligators from flooded areas.
Hurricane Milton returned to category 5
Milton intensified again on Tuesday, October 8 in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and once again became a Category 5 hurricane as it approached the west coast of Florida, according to the most recent report from the NHC.
The meteorological agency warned that “Florida residents should prepare” in their homes and evacuate, if indicated by local authorities.
Why is Florida on alert with the arrival of Hurricane Milton?
The NHC classified Hurricane Milton, which dropped to Category 5 as it passed through the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, October 8, as “life-threatening.”
Milton’s mortality is due to the stormsstrong winds and flooding that it will generate. The NHC noted in its most recent report that Milton has sustained winds of 150 mph.
Jane Castor, mayor of Tampa, warned that people should evacuate alert areas in the state.
“I can say without dramatizing at all: if they decide to stay in one of those evacuation zones, they are going to die,” he said in statements collected by BBC World.
In this sense, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis asked people to take evacuation calls seriously.
“We will not be able to look for the people who stay here again,” he said when announcing the establishment of 36 shelters,” he added.
So far, US authorities have issued evacuation orders in areas near bodies of water, such as Tampa. This measure also extends to Charlotte, Citrus, Colier, Hernando, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, St. Johns and Volusia counties.
The costs that Hurricane Milton could leave
In addition to the human losses, Wall Street analysts estimate that Milton could cause financial damages of up to $175 billion.
“Although it is too early to make estimates of insured losses, the impact of a hurricane like Milton in one of the most populated regions of Florida could result in losses in the double and a half digits of billions of dollars,” according to information reviewed. by the EFE news agency.
They even added that the figure of devastation and losses could be even higher than 175 billion dollars, once the eye of the hurricane makes landfall, probably in the Tampa Bay area, central coast of Florida.
When drawing a historical comparison, analysts find that one only needs to look back two years, when Hurricane Ian hit near the Fort Myers area as a Category 4 hurricane: Ian’s hit left more than $50 billion in losses.
Related news
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,’script’,
‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
fbq(‘init’, ‘648851442656403’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
#storm #surge #areas #awaiting #Hurricane #Milton #alert
