I hope Milton will be less devastating.
This is what the Dutch national news wrote about it:
Milton made landfall around 2:30 a.m. Dutch time in Siesta Key, just south of the city of Tampa, as a third-category hurricane with wind speeds of up to 200 kilometers per hour. Milton was still a Category 5 hurricane earlier this week.
Milton has since weakened over land to a first-category hurricane, with wind gusts to over 150 kilometers per hour. Meanwhile, the threat of casualties and flood damage remains as high as ever due to continued heavy rainfall and storm surge.
United States Correspondent, Rudy Bouma:
“Even though the hurricane is now weakening, it could still lead to great devastation. For example, it is not yet clear how high the water will rise. And nearly three million people are without power. That can't be repaired until it's safe to hit the streets again. That also applies to the water supply, which has been cut off in some places. I don't expect there will be a really clear picture of the damage until it gets light soon.
In addition, there is tension between the federal government in Washington and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a seasoned Republican. With President Biden, the folds have since been ironed out, but not with DeSantis and Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Harris. They accuse each other of misusing the hurricane politically. Disaster relief is also a politically tricky issue so close to the presidential election. With then-President Bush things went wrong because of his flawed approach around Katrina; his successor Obama actually scored with his response to Sandy. It can make or break candidates.”
Across the state, some 125 homes were destroyed even before Milton made landfall, most of them mobile homes.
Overnight, the Tampa Bay Rays baseball stadium in St. Petersburg was damaged. The roof of Tropicana Field blew off. Several construction cranes also collapsed in that city. As of yet, there do not appear to have been any casualties.
Milton is currently moving past Orlando, to leave the US later today via eastern Florida. Flooding is especially feared due to rising water levels. Flood warnings have been issued for nearly 2 million people in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, among others.
Weatherman Marco Verhoef explained that some 250 to 400 millimeters of precipitation is expected:
“Florida is quite flat and then when you consider that in the Netherlands in an entire year some 900 millimeters fall, so a little less than half of that falls there in one day. If this happened in the Netherlands, the water would be at our lips as well. And there the precautionary measures are also often just a little less than in the Netherlands. In addition, seawater is also pushed up from the Gulf of Mexico. So in total it's about as many as three or four flood chances.” Also at risk is debris from tornadoes, among other things, which can fly around or be swept away by the water."
Tornadoes not unusual
According to Verhoef, those many tornadoes that accompanied Milton's landfall in Florida were “not entirely unusual.” Verhoef:
“A hurricane like that is actually a cluster of a lot of showers together. The air at the top is very cold and the air on the ground is very warm. There's a lot of moisture, so there's a lot of energy. Then heavy thunderstorms can easily form. spinning around the hurricane's core. And in such a severe thunderstorm, a tornado is not very unusual. You just never know exactly where it will come.”
Aftermath Helene
Although massive and urgent evacuation calls were made early this week, the advice to residents of the state right now is mainly to stay where they are now. It is too dangerous to seek shelter elsewhere at this time, according to emergency officials. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, more than 70,000 people have sought shelter.
Florida and surrounding states are still recovering from Hurricane Helene, which swept over the area only two weeks ago. That one claimed the lives of at least 230 people.