On the 10th of October, a category 3 Hurricane hit Florida. Hurricane Milton caused a lot of devastation particularly in the coastal areas. Shortly after, an influx of deadly tornadoes had spawned which caused damage to homes and the streets to fill up with debris. There have been 8 casualties confirmed thus far.
Rescue teams jumped in to help Florida’s residents. Hurricane Helene had stuck just two weeks prior which had every team on high alert. The tornado system of Hurricane Milton had caused a power outage leading about 2.4 million residents to be left without electricity.
A patrolling Coast Guard helicopter helped a man clinging to an ice chest off the coast of Miami. His boat was lost to the waters caused by Hurricane Milton. He managed to survive minimum wind speeds of 75 mph (121 kph) and waves reaching up to 25 feet (7.6 meters.)
Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Dana Grady commented on this situation stating “This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner.”
The Hillsborough County officers rescued a 14-year old boy, who was found to be floating on a fence piece, by pulling him onto a boat.
“You face two hurricanes in a couple of weeks, it’s not easy to go through, but I’ve seen a lot of resilience throughout this state,” the governor told a briefing in Sarasota. He said he was “very confident that this area is going to bounce back very, very quickly.”
Damage was widespread, and water levels may continue to rise for days, but Gov. Ron DeSantis stated that it was not “the worst-case scenario.”
Although there were casualties and destruction, Tampa was spared of a direct hit. The storm tracked to the south in the final hours and made landfall late Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane in Siesta Key, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Tampa.
Read also: Indianapolis Groups Rally for Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts
Ockey, a man who has been living in Flordia for over 26 years, commented on Hurricane Milton explaining that it was different to anything he’s ever seen. “We’ve had seven or eight of them come before, but nothing like this one. This was big-time.”
Natasha Ducre and her husband, Terry, shared Ockey’s sentiment. Milton peeled the tin roof off of their cinderblock home. The couple and their family evacuated Wednesday night as the storm barreled toward them:
“It ain’t much, but it was ours. What little bit we did have is gone,” Natasha Ducre said. “It’s gone.”
References:
- https://fox59.com/news/national-world/millions-remain-in-the-dark-after-hurricane-milton/
- https://www.abc27.com/national/millions-remain-in-the-dark-after-hurricane-milton/
