Maeve Bidonde, Staff Writer
A couple of weeks ago Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida and left damage in its wake. According to USA Today, meteorologists confirmed that Milton spawned 41 tornadoes putting it in 13th place for the most tornadoes spawned by a Hurricane. The tornadoes stripped roofs off of houses, flipped mobile homes, and threw cars and boats around. One tornado in St. Lucie County killed six people. Before landfall the winds at the eyewall of Milton surged to 180 MPH and the outer bands of the storm slammed into South Florida approximately sixteen hours before the storm officially made landfall.
Hurricane Ivan which happened in 2004, holds the title for the hurricane that produced the most tornadoes with 118 tornadoes. Hurricane Milton tore the roof off Tropicana Stadium in Tampa Bay which is separate from tornado wind damage. In an article written by AP News, it’s stated that FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell said that Milton was not as destructive as they thought it would be.
The Tuesday before the storm hit, a reconnaissance flight was made out to the eye of the storm to drop the ashes of award-winning scientist Peter Dodge into the eye of the storm as a tribute to him. Hurricane Milton caused thousands of flights to be canceled. Airlines across the country decided to cancel flights and travel disruptions continued after Milton became a post-tropical cyclone. Storm surge warnings are to go into effect on the east central coast of Florida, deep into Georgia, and South Carolina. Hurricane Milton was strong enough to topple and twist a crane that had been working on a 46-story office and condominium building at the time. It landed on a newspaper office but luckily no one was working at the time of the collapse and there were no injuries.
When Hurricane Milton made landfall it was a category three storm, and the highest a storm can get is category five. According to CBS News, one family had bought their dream home in Siesta Key before Hurricane Helene struck followed by Hurricane Milton. The home is now gutted and filled with mud and their new furniture sits outside the home. The family can’t afford to rebuild the home either. Many gas stations were left with limited fuel after the storm and the evacuations took place. The number of gas stations with limited fuel totals 2,000 stations in Florida alone. Line workers from other states rode into Florida like the cavalry to help restore power to those without it and assist in the relief efforts. As of this past Friday around 9,698 customers were without power in Florida. Relief efforts include meal deliveries, search and rescue missions, and 50,000 workers restoring power. Still over 2 million residents remain without power.
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