As a ferocious Hurricane Milton charges its way across the Gulf Coast with Tampa and St. Petersburg in its sights, thousands flee the area for safer ground, leaving behind debris from Hurricane Helene’s destruction less that two weeks ago.
How will Hurricane Milton stack up against other major recent storms?
As a ferocious Hurricane Milton charges its way across the Gulf Coast with Tampa and St. Petersburg in its sights, thousands flee the area for safer ground, leaving behind debris from Hurricane Helene’s destruction less that two weeks ago.
While Milton’s classification has fluctuated several times between a Category 4 and 5, the storm is expected to be "an extremely dangerous hurricane″ when it comes ashore on Wednesday. The amount of damage will depend on its storm surge, and the number of deaths may depend on how many heeded warnings to evacuate.
Other major hurricanes to hit the U.S. left hundreds of people dead and caused billions of dollars worth of damage.
Hurricane Helene made landfall on Florida’s Panhandle on Sept. 26 and churned its way across five other states, leaving at least 236 dead and an unknown number of people still missing. The Category 4 storm brought torrential floodwaters that ripped homes off their foundations and uprooted trees, leaving thousands without power and water for days.