Everything You Need to Know About Hurricane Milton

WatchMojo

The effects of Hurricane Milton are far from over. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re discussing everything you need to know about Hurricane Milton.

Transcript

00:00I'm going to show you a couple of pieces of video that really kind of illustrate the unique nature

00:04of this storm. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're discussing everything you need to know

00:09about Hurricane Milton. Hurricane Milton had maximum sustained wind speeds of 165 miles an hour.

00:17Even before anyone uttered the name Milton, the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season was already one

00:22for the history books. In July, Hurricane Beryl became the season's first storm to reach Category

00:285, the peak of the Saffir-Simpson scale. Florida's Big Bend is still dealing with the aftermath of

00:34Hurricane Helene, which surfaced in late September. This storm is easily the most destructive that

00:39I've seen. Yet Milton may go down as one of the most intense Atlantic hurricanes ever. Two days

00:45after forming on October 5th, Milton was upgraded to Category 5. National Hurricane Center says

00:50Milton, currently a Category 5 storm, could be one of the most destructive on record for the

00:55Tampa Bay area of Florida. For context, Beryl reached Category 5 after four days, while Helene

01:01never exceeded Category 4. Milton fluctuated between Categories 5 and 4 before dropping to

01:073 on October 9th. The chaotic cyclone still promised to be devastating upon making landfall.

01:12The hard work now begins with daybreak here as we get a better portrait of the damage,

01:16the destruction from Hurricane Milton, which came crashing ashore last night. Milton has

01:21caused flooding in Mexico and Cuba. Parts of the Bahamas and Georgia were also on alert.

01:26You'll notice there that this system does not make a direct landfall on Georgia, but you don't have

01:32to have a direct landfall on our state to feel some of the impacts. It became clear early on

01:38that Milton would leave its most significant mark in Florida. Preparing for landfall, all eyes were

01:43initially on Tampa Bay, which hadn't endured a major hurricane since 1921. The storm is expected

01:50to bring life-threatening storm surge for the Tampa Bay area and west coast. While Florida is

01:55no stranger to hurricanes, Milton appeared to be an entirely different beast. After Governor

02:00Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency, millions were ordered to evacuate. Panic buying

02:05ensued as locals stocked up on groceries and gasoline. Animals from the Zoo Tampa and Florida

02:11Aquarium were also moved for safety. To those hoping to ride out the storm, Tampa Mayor Jane

02:16Castor issued a blunt message. If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you're

02:22gonna die. In addition to coastal cities like Tampa, inland locales like Orlando would take

02:27precautions. As you noted, the rain has started here, but we have not seen the worst of Milton

02:32yet. Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, and SeaWorld Orlando all closed as Milton neared.

02:38This is only the 11th time Disney World has been forced to shut down since 1971.

02:43Along with theme parks, Central Florida Airport ceased operations as well. I want to show you some

02:48video of some of the last passengers at Tampa's airport this morning. It closed and it's not going

02:54to reopen until after Milton goes through. Several airports across Florida remained open, but numerous

03:00flights were canceled. While tourists had their trips ruined, Florida residents stood to lose

03:05much more. Tampa Bay to Sarasota to Venice could see 10 to 15 feet of ocean water pushing on to

03:12land. Those evacuated feared they might not have a home to return to. Early forecasts suggested that

03:18floods could range from 8 to 12 feet in Tampa, which has a low elevation. Flash flooding is

03:24occurring. It's not predicted, it's absolutely occurring. It was the National Hurricane Center's

03:30highest storm surge forecast for Tampa to date. Despite decreasing to a Category 3 as it approached,

03:36Milton still expanded in size as tornadoes were unleashed. Holy crap. While Milton was expected to

03:43hit Tampa first, the storm ultimately made landfall closer south near Siesta Key, with winds roaring

03:48120 miles per hour. By the time landfall was made in the late hours of October 9th, almost 20

03:55tornadoes had already been reported in Florida. I could actually see it coming from my my bedroom

04:01window and it was honestly it was like watching the movie Twister. Although Tampa still felt the

04:07hurricane's impact with over 100 emergency calls, the most prominent damage was felt in other cities

04:13as Milton raged across Florida. You'll notice how far back this water goes. This is actually much

04:19less water than we saw at the height of this storm. St. Petersburg's Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa

04:26Bay Rays, had much of its fiberglass roof blown off. Conditions have deteriorated obviously when

04:32you see the roof just clean ripped off of the stadium there. The stadium had previously been

04:37deemed an emergency staging area. Thankfully, the staging area was relocated with no injuries at the

04:43ballpark. Even before Milton arrived, there were plans to revamp Tropicana Field by 2028.

04:49The hurricane also caused a crane in St. Petersburg to collapse into the Tampa Bay Times Building,

04:54although nobody was hurt. These are new pictures coming into our newsroom of that crane collapse

05:00there. By the early hours of October 10th, more than three million in central Florida were without

05:05power. The good news here, the investments we've made to make our grid stronger, to underground

05:10many of those power lines and to add smart grid technology along the grid, helped us to restore

05:16power to approximately 600,000 customers even as the storm was striking the state. Although many

05:22evacuated, some residents took their chances at home. With the hurricane leading to fuel shortages

05:27and the freeways packed, there was a risk of being stranded on the road during the storm.

05:32As night turned to day, power lines and trees fell, communities were flooded, boats fell on lawns,

05:38and debris flew through the air, one piece hitting Anderson Cooper. If you look at the ground, whoa,

05:45okay, that wasn't good. He was okay. There was still debris left over from Helene,

05:51intensifying the danger. Cleanup crews hurried to pick up the pieces from Helene,

05:55only to make way for another disaster. After a block, people still cleaning up right now while

06:01preparing for this next storm, which could be worse out here. Around 1 a.m., Milton decreased to a

06:07category one hurricane. Between morning and afternoon, Milton had passed through Florida,

06:12moving into the Atlantic Ocean. Heather, you can see behind me that the trees, for the most part,

06:17from where we are positioned, they were able to withstand those hurricane force winds.

06:21Although Milton dropped to a post-tropical cyclone status, winds still blew 75 miles per hour,

06:28with the threat of a potentially fatal storm surge along the coast of East Central Florida

06:32and South Georgia. We actually had to cease all services because it's actually been too

06:37dangerous to put my first responders out there on the road. As Milton moved away from Florida,

06:42it started to face the direction of mainland Europe. Experts agree that Milton is unlikely

06:46to hit Europe, which has endured its fair share of bad weather as of late with ex-hurricane Kirk.

06:52The storm caused flooding in Portugal and left 300,000 people without power.

06:57Leading up to its impact in Florida, some, including President Biden,

07:00predicted that Milton would be the storm of the century. But I urge everyone in Hurricane

07:06Milton's path to follow all safety instructions as we head to the next 24 hours. It was even argued

07:12that the Saffir-Simpson scale should be expanded to include a Category 6. All things considered,

07:17Milton wasn't as catastrophic as some expected, especially in areas like Tampa. Even so,

07:23Milton left a trail of disaster behind, with more than 10 individuals injured.

07:28The hurricane and its fierce winds cut a path of destruction across many cities and towns.

07:33Over 10 people also lost their lives, most of which were in the U.S. while at least one was in Mexico.

07:39It's been estimated that the price of the damages could range from billions to nearly $1 trillion.

07:44It appears the worst is behind Florida, although many made that same assumption after Helene passed.

07:50A little step back here and try to catch our breath.

07:53Amid the recent disasters, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has spearheaded a rumor that

07:59the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, is running out of money with the Biden

08:03administration redirecting funds to illegal migrants. Speaking of Trump, Milton didn't

08:08drastically affect his residents at Mar-a-Lago. As for his claims, they are unfounded.

08:14There is no basis for saying that money was stolen from FEMA, money is missing.

08:18The money that goes towards major hurricanes doesn't come directly from FEMA's budget,

08:22but rather from its disaster relief fund. According to administrator Deanne Criswell,

08:27FEMA has enough money to assist in the aftermath of Helene and Milton.

08:31We plan for multiple events just like this, but this is going to be a challenge, right? These are

08:37two very large events back to back. Although there were reports of FEMA being understaffed,

08:43Florida is receiving additional support from the U.S. Army North, out-of-state firefighters,

08:48and other volunteers. Taylor Swift even donated $5 million to relief efforts.

08:53That news from the charity Feeding America, which posted a big thank you message to the superstar.

09:00Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about

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09:15While Deanne Criswell says FEMA currently has, quote,

09:18sufficient resources, there are long-term concerns.

09:22FEMA already spent $9 billion of the $20 billion from its fiscal year disaster fund,

09:27which is supposed to last until September 30th, 2025.

09:31Besides hurricanes, Criswell says the agency has dealt with a busy tornado season,

09:35historic levels of flooding, and wildfires this year.

09:38If the frequency of major hurricanes continues,

09:41FEMA may inevitably run into serious financial trouble without additional funding from Congress.

09:46The president noted correctly that he has asked Congress to come back

09:51and provide funding so we have stability for the long haul.

09:55Hurricanes also continue to intensify quickly, with experts pointing to climate change.

10:0092 mile an hour increase in less than 24 hours, and that is one of the hallmark signatures of

10:06what climate change is doing to hurricanes, Hallie.

10:08Even if we've seen the last major hurricane of this season, and that remains an if,

10:13there will inevitably come a time when we have to brace ourselves for another Milton or Helene.

10:18For now, rescue and recovery efforts are underway with the American Red Cross,

10:22the Salvation Army, and others providing a helping hand.

10:26If you know of any charities or organizations that assist in disaster relief,

10:30please share them in the comments.

10:32We've had some requests already for hygiene kits and other emergency supplies.

10:38Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,

10:41and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.

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