While Milton is about to make landfall, what do you need to know about this hurricane?
What elements of the hurricane Milton will do the most damage? The wind? Rain?
According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Milton could cause water to rise up to 15 feet in the Tampa Bay area. The cause: the expected storm surge, a phenomenon caused by winds and atmospheric pressure which push water towards the coasts. More than the rain, it is therefore this rising water level which is particularly worrying. The hurricane Milton also hits more densely populated areas thanHeleneless than two weeks ago.
Which sectors are covered by evacuation orders?
About fifteen Florida counties, mainly located on the west coast of the peninsula, in the Tampa region, are under an evacuation order. Some 5.9 million people were ordered to evacuate, according to the Associated Press.
How did the evacuation go?
To improve the flow of travel, motorists can drive on the shoulder lanes and tolls have been lifted.
According to the US Weather Service, Milton could be “the most powerful hurricane to hit Tampa in the last 100 years.”
How Milton does it compare to recent hurricanes?
The government agency Climate.gov indicates that in terms of winds, the hurricane Milton is the most powerful to have formed in the Gulf of Mexico since the hurricane Rita in 2005. In terms of pressure, Milton appears to be the fifth most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin.
Is this truly an unusual hurricane season in the United States?
Milton is the second Category 5 hurricane this season (after Berylin July). The United States has suffered two Category 5 hurricanes in the same year only five times since 1950: there were 2 in 1961, 4 in 2005, 2 in 2007, 2 in 2015 and 2 in 2019.
The higher the number, the greater the damage?
Not necessarily. Katrina only made landfall in category 3, but it was particularly devastating due to its extent and the fact that dikes failed in Louisiana. Katrina had also hit a fairly poor region where the houses were fragile.
What to expect from insurance?
Weiss Ratings, an independent rating agency, warns Florida homeowners who will make hurricane damage claims Helene Or Milton that they are likely not to be compensated.
According to this agency which looked at large insurers in Florida, half of the people who made claims for their homes in 2023 received nothing. Over the past 20 years, several insurance companies in Florida have gone bankrupt. Those who are still in business are less generous and more demanding: it is in Florida that insurance premiums are the highest in the entire country.
What shortages are foreseeable?
As always before a hurricane, grocery store shelves have been emptied by Floridians eager to stock up on supplies, and gasoline is in short supply. But the hurricane Heleneat the end of September, also led to a shortage of intravenous fluids, with the Baxter plant in North Carolina which produces them suffering heavy damage.
Even before the hurricane Miltonsurgical interventions have already had to be canceled. In a letter to President Joe Biden, the American Hospital Association expressed great concern and called for emergency action.
What did the pilots do in the heart of the hurricane?
Videos of planes in the heart of the advancing hurricane made the rounds on the web on Wednesday. And they were authentic. Who are these madmen who, in the middle of the sky, set out to meet Milton ? Researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at work. Their task definition: “collect important weather data,” the organization explained on Wednesday.