Just ten days after Category 4 hurricane Helene hit Florida, a new hurricane started to form in the Gulf of Mexico: Milton. While crossing the Gulf, Milton grew to a Category 5, which is the strongest category for hurricanes. Meteorologists categorized Milton as the fifth strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic, headed for Florida.
Because of the great danger heading their way, 15 counties issued mandatory evacuation plans urging almost 6 million people to leave their homes and seek refuge. On their way out of Florida, people were stuck in traffic for up to 10 hours for a route that usually takes around 3-4 hours, the price for airplane tickets out of Florida tripled, and the anxiety around reaching safety in time was at an all-time high.
When Milton hit Sarasota, near Tampa, in the evening of September 9th it had calmed to a Category 3. But because Florida was already weakened from hurricane Helene, ten days earlier, the impact was still drastic. 24 deaths can directly be linked to Milton and an estimated 50-60 billion dollars of damage were caused. Thankfully people from all over the country are helping to rebuild the beloved state, whether it is through in-person volunteering or by donations. Even celebrities are trying to support the state: Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively each donated one million dollars, and Taylor Swift donated five million dollars to local food banks and hurricane relief organizations.
Even at EF Pasadena, more than 2000 miles from Florida, the effects can be felt. Two weeks ago, the campus was buzzing with talk about the hurricane and TikToks the students were watching of people evacuating or families returning and posting about the aftermath, Gwyn, a 9th grader, said. She had heard about the hurricane on the news and followed the event closely on TikTok, talking about it with her friends at lunch, and feeling great empathy for the people in Florida.
Bridget, a 10th grader, was directly impacted by the hurricane. She learned about the hurricane from worried phone calls from her grandparents, who live in Florida part-time and were supposed to fly black there 2 days before the storm hit. Thankfully, she said, they were able to cancel their flights and remain safe.
When asked about the aftermath of the hurricane, Bridget answered: “The apartment complex where they live got mostly destroyed but luckily their apartment condo was only damaged, but nothing that couldn’t be repaired.” Bridget then talked about her extended family who were not so lucky. The whole family evacuated, as they lived on the beach, right on Milton’s path of destruction. “When they returned, they were thankfully all well, but their house had been severely damaged,” Bridget said, “I think the kitchen flew away completely and two kids’ rooms had collapsed. They’re thinking about moving away from Florida because repairing the house would take at least a year and you never know when the next hurricane will hit.”
Even though people often think of Florida when it comes to hurricanes and tropical storms, California also gets them occasionally. For example, in August of 2023, Hurricane Hilary made landfall in Mexico’s Baja California as a Category 4 hurricane. This resulted in the death of 3 Mexicans and around 15 million dollars of damage. The Storm then headed for California. Thankfully the hurricane had calmed to a tropical storm by the time it reached California. Even though the storm was not as severe, meteorologists said that August 20th, 2023 was the fifth wettest day in Palm Springs history.
