After Helene, Florida Braces for Hurricane Milton

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Facts

  • Hurricane Milton on Monday strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane as it headed toward the Tampa, Fla., area that less than two weeks ago was devastated by Hurricane Helene.[1]
  • The hurricane is expected to hit the Tampa Bay area Wednesday before passing over or near Orlando. Florida officials warned residents to prepare for the 'largest evacuation' since Hurricane Irma in 2017.[2]
  • Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has issued a state of emergency for 51 counties, including Pinellas and Miami-Dade. He also ordered National Guard and State Guard members to return home after helping with Helene recovery in other states.[3]
  • As of Monday morning, Milton was bringing 160 mph (257 km/hr) winds and by the afternoon its sustained winds were 175 mph (281 km/hr).[4]
  • Hurricane Helene, which made landfall in Florida on Sept. 26, killed more than 220 people throughout the Southeast US.[5]

Sources: [1]Associated Press, [2]Sky News, [3]Axios, [4]Accuweather and [5]Independent.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by NBC. As long as man-made climate change is allowed to proliferate with little done to oppose it, the threat of these types of storms will continue. More must be done to battle climate change because as long as the oceans and atmosphere continue warming, there will be fuel for extreme rainfall, catastrophic flooding, and destructive winds.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Wsj. It's unfortunate that a historic storm is about to hit the coast of Florida, but this isn't about man-made climate change. The frequency and intensity of these storms haven't increased in recent decades according to meteorological analysis. More must be done to create better evacuation policies and protect areas where more people are choosing to live than ever before — humans are choosing to reside in harm's way.