Damage from Hurricane Milton: What the “Storm of the Century” left behind compared to other hurricanes

RFlorida residents have been reeling from Hurricane Milton, a Category 3 storm that has caused at least 14 deaths, 3.4 million power outages and significant damage that has yet to be determined.

Hundreds of people were rescued Thursday after the storm that brought historic rainfall in Tampa, tossed debris and trees through the streets and left the Tampa Bay Rays field in St. Petersburg in ruins.

With millions of people under evacuation warnings, experts had warned this could be one of the deadliest and most destructive storms in recent years, just as residents began picking up the debris from Hurricane Helene last month.

How does Milton compare to the most devastating hurricanes of the 21st century, even though its destruction toll is still uncertain?

Hurricane Milton made landfall for the first time near Siesta Key in western Florida on Wednesday evening with maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour. The hurricane spawned dozens of tornadoes, heavy rains and 28-foot waves along the Gulf Coast.

Although Milton strengthened to a Category 5 over the Gulf of Mexico, it weakened before making landfall.

Florida is no stranger to hurricanes, with Category 4 Helene causing devastating damage just a few weeks earlier. In fact, four of the seven deadliest hurricanes since 2000 had severe impacts in Florida, as shown on the map above. These four are in addition to Helene.

The deadliest hurricanes all came from the Atlantic, gaining speed, size and pressure in the Gulf of Mexico as they moved into the warm waters.

As of late Thursday, the death toll from Hurricane Milton stood at 14 people, although the situation was evolving rapidly. Search and rescue operations were still underway in the state on Thursday evening.

The deadliest hurricane so far this century remains Katrina in 2005, which killed 1,392 people. The vast majority of these deaths have been confirmed in Louisiana, many of them in the city of New Orleans.

But the recent Hurricane Helene is close behind, with a death toll of more than 228 and possibly more as hundreds are still missing. The hardest hit states were the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee.

Hurricanes can cause billions of dollars in damage within hours and days.

The seven deadliest hurricanes alone have caused over half a trillion dollars (over $570 million) in damage since 2000, not to mention the dozens more that have made landfall.

Hurricane Ian in 2022 was the costliest hurricane in recent history, causing $133 billion in damages across Florida and the Carolinas in particular.

Since less than 24 hours have passed since Milton’s landing, the effects cannot yet be estimated; However, it is already estimated that Hurricane Helene caused at least $30 billion and as much as $47 billion, including flood and wind damage, most of which was uninsured. AccuWeather said Thursday that preliminary estimates of damage and economic loss range from $160 billion to $180 billion.

Because Florida is so exposed to hurricanes and subsequent damage, there have been concerns about the future viability of insurance for local homes and businesses.

Millions remained without electricity

Power outages from Hurricane Milton reached a peak of 3.4 million customers, with dozens of Florida counties losing power in the past day, according to tracker PowerOutage.US.

As of mid-Thursday afternoon, more than three-quarters of customers in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties — surrounding Tampa — had reported power outages, according to tracker FindEnergy. That’s hundreds of thousands of households.

The map below shows the power outages are concentrated in Central and West Florida, in the path of the hurricane.

This puts Milton at the top of the list of hurricanes that have affected power and infrastructure.

Hurricane Irma in 2017, which peaked with sustained winds of 132 miles per hour, caused power outages for over 6.7 million customers in at least six states.

Meanwhile, other hurricanes like Ida in 2021 may have been stronger and caused more financial damage but had less impact on power supplies.

Connections to climate change

On Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned residents that there may be more hurricane activity in the coming months. The Atlantic hurricane season lasts until the end of November.

As storms ease in October, it is the third most active month of the season for tropical activity in the Atlantic basin, according to FOX Weather.

Hurricanes require two ingredients to form: warm water and wind. They start in tropical regions where the sea temperature is at least 30 degrees Celsius.

The hot sea water evaporates and warm, moist air is created. Winds also cause even more evaporation. The moist air rises high into the planet’s atmosphere and begins to cool. The water vapor then condenses back into water droplets. The droplets form storm clouds. As warm air continues to rise from the ocean, winds blow in circular motions around the center, gathering storm clouds. Once these winds reach a maximum sustained wind speed of 120 km/h, the cyclone is officially a hurricane.

The Gulf of Mexico has experienced record-breaking sea temperatures in recent months. These conditions add fuel to a hurricane and fuel the rapid intensification observed at Milton.

Hurricane Milton was the strongest late-season storm in the Gulf of Mexico and the strongest hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico since Hurricane Rita in 2005.

Climate change, which has caused marine heatwaves in most parts of the world, is causing hurricanes to bring more intense rainfall and stronger storm surges from rising seas.