When the tropical disturbance that would become Hurricane Milton formed in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico and began its inexorable march toward hitting Florida’s west coast in midweek, it wasn’t just clouds swirling around it.
As the winds picked up, so did the familiar feelings of anxiety and fear across a state still reeling from the effects of another major storm, Hurricane Helen, that occurred just a week ago. In the end, the densely populated cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg were spared the apocalyptic scenario some had predicted. But other locations along the Gulf Coast saw unprecedented levels of destruction and devastation.
The two deadly cyclones have so far claimed approximately 250 lives, destroyed thousands of homes and left millions of Florida residents and businesses without power, many in the coming days. It could last for weeks. This double whammy has thrown Florida into disarray from which it won’t be able to recover any time soon.
“Just as we started to get a little bit of normality after Helen, when things started to stabilize, we pivoted and dealt with this other terrible storm, Hurricane Milton,” Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday. I had to do it,” he still said. This is another in a ferocious series of press conferences he has conducted over the past two weeks in the worst-hit areas.
"Like I said, the damage has been done. There’s a lot of work to do. It’s not the worst-case scenario, but we’ve taken a hit and we’ll have to work to recover. ”
Mr. DeSantis was talking about immediate response to successive disasters and long-term recovery, which can be long and expensive, as evidenced by Florida’s experience as the nation’s most vulnerable state to hurricanes.
A man moves a chair as people remove debris and clean homes in Tampa, Florida. Photo: Giorgio Vieira/AFP/Getty ImagesEarly estimates are already in place, even as water rescue efforts continue and flooding from the Milton River continues this weekend. Analysts at AccuWeather estimate that preliminary damage and economic losses for “one of the most damaging and impactful events” could be between $160 billion and $180 billion. It’s a storm in Florida’s history. ”
By comparison, 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, the costliest in U.S. history, cost $320 billion, adjusted for inflation, the company said. The reason Milton’s prices are so high is because of its wide range. The EF3 tornado, one of dozens of tornadoes in the storm’s outer belt, struck more than 100 homes in the upscale Avenir neighborhood of Palm Beach Gardens, about 270 miles east of where Milton made landfall. destroyed. At Siesta Key.
“Loss from Helen would be $225 billion to $250 billion, and losses from Hurricane Milton would be closer to $160 billion to $180 billion. U.S. GDP is $26 trillion, so this total loss would be close to 2% (of) ,” AccuWeather founder and executive president Joel Myers said in the calculation.
He said losses will be mainly concentrated in the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2025.
“That could wipe out all the economic growth that was expected over that period,” he said.
At the state level, there are more pressing concerns, including how Herren and Milton will affect the smooth running of next month’s general election. County elections officials and their staff are assessing the damage to the building. Mr. DeSantis signed a number of executive orders after Hurricane Helen, relaxing voting rules to allow as many people as possible to vote.
“I don’t know of any offices that have been so affected that they can’t operate. I think the only thing they’re looking at right now is power. The actual building is fine,” said Travis Hart, president of the association. said. Florida Organization of Election Officials representing election officials from all 67 counties.
“We haven’t put everything together yet, but some people are checking their polling places and polling stations. But I think they’re going to be in pretty good shape, so I feel really good.”
Hart said he expected DeSantis to follow Herren in approving the consolidation of some polling places in newly affected areas. Other measures include relaxing strict training requirements for poll workers and allowing residents as well as emergency responders and utility workers who work remotely from their homes to change their mail-in voting address by phone. Included.
“A lot of people have been forced to evacuate. Their homes are probably damaged and they can’t get home. Some people have been washed away along the coast,” Hart said.
“They can just call us and say, ‘Hello, I’m at this address, please send me a mail-in ballot here,’ and they don’t have to print out a form and mail it in. Bring it with you. Please give it to me or send it to me by email.”
Hart said the state’s long history of destructive hurricanes has taught election officials to be prepared, but that back-to-back large storms could present other challenges. admitted.
“That’s one of the great things about Florida, we’ve been here before. We’re dealing with unprecedented situations and we’re resilient and we’ll bounce back,” he said. said.
“But this could create new problems. Hurricanes are like elections, they’re all different. Early reports said it wasn’t as bad as we expected, but a full assessment is When we come back, we may need to change gears and go in a different direction.”
Another area where experts say the hurricane could have a significant long-term impact is Florida’s booming real estate market. Previous storms haven’t slowed the steady flow of about 900 people per day moving to sunny states, but new premium hikes are inevitable following the possibility of Helen and Milton. This further exacerbated the lingering insurance crisis.
Analysts say it’s too early to predict how things will turn out, but even if prices rise and demand slows, there probably won’t be a shortage of people still wanting to come.
“I think there are people in Florida who think, ‘This is it, I’m moving,’ and there are people who are considering moving to Florida who think, ‘No, I’m not going. There are too many hurricanes.’ ” said Ken Johnson, dean of real estate at the University of Mississippi School of Business.
“But we still won’t see a turnaround in immigration. All historical evidence suggests that we will see economic growth in the region after the hurricanes. There will be momentum for business capital to come in. , people still want to retire to Florida.”
But Johnson believes recent disasters will put pressure on the Florida Legislature to fix the broken insurance market. Several private insurance companies have left Florida in recent years, and the number of policies held by Citizens, the last state-sponsored insurer, has skyrocketed.
“When the needle moves, it will be due to an event or series of events, like the one we just experienced,” he says. “Two hurricanes in two weeks is probably going to be the trigger to finally take some serious action. That’s what Florida has to do, and I’m sure they will do, but when? I don’t know if it will happen.”
