Everyone has heard of the new big hurricane Milton and over three million people had no power in their house and no food after the hurricane and maybe even before. Additionally, there were dozens of tornadoes across Florida.
For people that have lived in Florida for most of their lives, they know that most hurricanes aren’t really anything but this one was the most deadly storm surge for Tampa, though the storm dumped up to 18 inches of rain in some areas. The worst storm surge appeared to be in Sarasota County, where it was eight to ten feet. In some cases, lower than the worst place during Helene.
The hurricane happened on October 9. Storm-surge warnings were still posted for much of the East Central Florida coast and north into Georgia. Tropical storm warnings were in place along the coast into South Carolina. Officials in the hard-hit Florida counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota and Lee urged people to stay home, warning them of downed power lines, trees in roads, blocked bridges and flooding. Just inland from Tampa, the flooding in Plant City was “absolutely staggering,” according to City Manager Bill McDaniel. Emergency crews rescued 35 people overnight, says McDaniel, who estimated the city received 13.5 inches of rain. “We have flooding in places and to levels that I’ve never seen, and I’ve lived in this community for my entire life,” he said in a video posted online on Thursday morning.
The tiny barrier island of Matlacha, just off Fort Myers, got striked by both a tornado and a surge, with many of the colorful buildings in the fishing and tourist village suffering serious damage. Tom Reynolds, 90, spent the morning sweeping out four feet of mud and water and collecting chunks of aluminum siding them off by a twister that also picked up a car and threw it across the road. We hope for safety for the people of Florida after this hurricane.
Image Courtesy to Nasa Johnson on Flickr.
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