Florida has experienced quite the devastation and tragedy in these past couple of weeks. Specifically, the West Coast of Florida has been devastated by the subsequent hurricanes of Helene and then Milton. Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 storm, made landfall on September 26th, where it would go on to hit parts of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. This storm had a five-hundred-mile path of destruction along these southern states leaving hundreds of thousands without homes and over three million without power. Residents in Florida and North Carolina were hit the hardest by this hurricane. Justin Rhodes, a YouTuber who lives in North Carolina had his farm destroyed, and his wife says in the video, “Everything that we have worked so hard for is floating away.” Hurricane Helene’s potential damage was severely underestimated and led to a devastating crisis among civilians trying to survive and salvage what they could. People’s houses have been destroyed, along with the roads and bridges which has created a larger issue of trying to get supplies and services to residents. The fifteen-foot storm surge from Helene left thousands without homes.
Florida was in the process of recovering from the immense damage when tragedy struck again. Hurricane Milton formed quickly within the Gulf of Mexico and became a Category 5 hurricane fast. Milton made landfall on October 10th and created over ten feet of storm surge and left millions across the state of Florida without power. The Tampa Bay area was the projected place of landfall for Hurricane Milton which caused thousands of evacuations. Hurricane Milton caused further damage all across the state of Florida due to the 100+ tornadoes that formed before and after Milton. There were over 20+ confirmed tornadoes in Palm Beah County which wrecked the Acreage and Palm Beach Gardens, leaving dozens without homes and vehicles.
