Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton

By: Ally M. ‘28 and Cynthia T. ‘27

From late September to early October, Hurricanes peppered the internet with people gaining millions of views due to the ways they dealt with the oncoming natural disasters. The natural disasters in question were the two major hurricanes that bombarded Florida- Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. 

On September 24th, at around 11pm, Hurricane Helene made landfall near Perry, Florida as a category 4 hurricane. Winds up to 140 mph blew and stretched over 500 miles, hitting states including several southeastern states. Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee being those states. They experienced severe storms with unprecedented amounts of rain, which caused widespread flooding, landslides, and infrastructure damage. With damages exceeding $160 billion, Hurricane Helene has become one of the most expensive natural disasters in recent U.S. history. Tragically, the storm has also resulted in 230 lives lost, and many more displaced due to communities being destroyed and left without power. 

Now, affected states are working with FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and the National Guard to facilitate aid distribution and rebuild critical infrastructure. Since the response efforts began, FEMA has deployed over 5000 personnel to help affected communities. FEMA has set up Disaster Recovery Centers where survivors can meet with FEMA representatives to discuss specific needs, ask questions, and get help with the recovery process. FEMA has also distributed essential items like food, water, and baby formula to survivors.  

Following Hurricane Helene, less than a month afterwards, Hurricane Milton made landfall near Sarasota, Florida, as a category 3 storm. Winds around 120 miles per hour spawned over 100 tornadoes that flooded Florida. More than a million people were advised to evacuate across the Tampa area. After the climax of the storm had passed, over three million people’s homes did not have any power, and as of October 15th, 5 days after the storm had passed, almost 200,000 homes were still not in power across Florida.

Hurricane categories are decided based on a scale measuring the speed of winds. A category 4 hurricane has winds from 130-156 mph, while a category 3 hurricane has winds from 111-129 mph. A small difference, but still changed the course of the hurricane. Hurricane Milton made history as the fastest hurricane to go from a category 1 storm to a category 5 oversea in 10 hours. The devastation that was Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, especially in such a short period of time, was caused and will continue to increase in count due to the climbing crisis that is global warming. As the atmosphere continues to increase in temperature, the ocean warms. Hurricanes form on warm water, and following that trend are the increase in amount and power of storms like hurricanes. For example, meteorologists say that the hundreds of tornadoes that were the offspring to Hurricane Milton were much stronger than previous tornadoes seen in wake of hurricanes.

As humans continue to develop the planet and temperatures continue to rise, it is necessary to do everything you can to help the planet. Recycling, carpooling, and trying to consume things from ethical and reliable sources are just some ways you can help the planet and slow global warming.