As Florida just started to recover from the severe damage caused by storm Helene the originally set to be category 5 storm, Milton made “landfall” as it gradually intensified from October 5th-12th.
Storm Milton hit parts of Florida including Siesta keys, Tampa Bay and St Petersburg leaving millions without power.
Winds surged up to 180mph as rainfall reached a shocking 457mm in St Petersburg. A storm surge of 8-10 feet was recorded, though not as bad as initially predicted this still caused mass destruction.
More than 140 tornado warnings were set out across Florida even before Milton’s arrival.
13 severe weather alerts were issued across Florida, some with extreme threats to life and property.
And an estimated 3 million people were left without power as this storm continued its destruction.
Desperate families tried to escape the horrors that this storm would bring but many simply could not.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor stated that “if you chose to stay in one of those evacuation areas you are going to die”.
This is not something that Mayor Castor has ever said before indicating the severity of this storm as she has dealt with many others beforehand.
After evacuating from Storm Helene only two weeks ago many people could not afford to do this again, so they decided to wait it out.
With flight prices being raised and gas stations emptying, the people of Florida had no escape route.
Traffic to get out of state was reportedly miles long and St Pete Bridge was jam packed with terrified natives trying to leave Florida in fear of their lives.
By 6:30pm on Tuesday night 7912 gas stations across Florida were left with no fuel and people were stuck at home.
Scared for their lives, people began writing out their full names and date of birth on their body with permanent markers so that police would be able to identify them in case of tragedy.
Many were at home with babies and children as they tried to remain calm despite what was to come.
The impacts of storm Milton are still being dealt with as officials try and grasp around what to do.
Homes have been destroyed and President Joe Biden has come out and said that experts have estimated damage costs are up to a staggering $50 billion.
Taylor Swift has donated $5 million to storm relief efforts to help ease damage caused by storm Helene and Milton.
