Everything You Need to Know About Hurricane Milton

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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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