With the fall season coming up very quickly, that also means hurricane season has made its way to the coast. On September 24, 2024, Hurricane Helene made its way through Florida and North Carolina, damaging almost every area. Hurricane Helene was a catastrophic event leaving homes, stores, and many more places left to small pieces, as well as making many people evacuate and travel to different parts of the US. According to CNN writer, Ray Sanchez, “ Days before Helene made landfall in Florida, the National Weather Service in North Carolina warned of a historic combination of heavy rain, life-threatening flooding, and catastrophic landslides along the mountains. A system that moved into the area before Helene had already left the ground and rivers saturated.” Those two states got hit the worst and were left shredded to pieces.
After a few days, the hurricane finally ended on September 27, 2024. Ten days later, Florida was issued another hurricane, known as Hurricane Milton. This hurricane could be a category 4-5, which is also very dangerous. CNN writers, Allison Chinchar and Elisa Raffa said, “The storm is expected to quickly intensify while it moves eastward to northeastward across the Gulf of Mexico and be at or near major hurricane strength when it reaches the west coast of the Florida Peninsula midweek.” As of Saturday afternoon, it is projected to make landfall in Florida at up to Category 3 strength, with 115 mph winds. Once again, this is another very dangerous hurricane, which will most likely cause even more damage to homes, etc. Many stores are losing stock of everyday supplies such as food, toiletries, and even wood.
Hurricane Milton is known as the strongest Gulf storm since 2005. New York Times writers Judson Jones, Patricia Mazzei, Annie Correal, and Isabelle Taft state, “Only eight previous Atlantic hurricanes on record have reached or exceeded 180 mph. sustained winds, adding to the alarm of forecasters and Florida officials. Prepare quickly and get out of the city, Mayor Jane Castor of Tampa told vulnerable residents.” Hurricane winds can be incredibly powerful, so it is best to evacuate and take things seriously.
CBS news writers Cara Tabachnick, Lucia Suarez Sang, Emily Mae Czachor, and Faris Tanyos stated, “Mass evacuations are underway as Florida braces for another hurricane. Mandatory evacuation orders were issued Monday for parts of Tampa and scheduled to take effect at 2:30 p.m. Officials in Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa Bay, said they would open nine shelters throughout the county for residents in mandatory evacuation zones as well as people whose homes are vulnerable to storm surge, flooding, and wind damage.” The effects of these tropical storms are devastating and it is something nobody wants to have to deal with.
Hurricanes are extremely dangerous. Many families are losing their homes, as well as their lives from these tropical storms. When being told to evacuate, do not ignore the warnings just listen to them. Do not forget to stock up on daily supplies, and to go somewhere that you know would be safe from the storm.
