Havoc Across the Southeast: Hurricanes Helene & Milton
Maia Wijnberg ’26
Daphne Wong ‘26
The 2024 hurricane season included several devastating hurricanes, most notably Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, which made landfall in Florida less than two weeks apart. Helene hit Florida on September 26th, causing destruction all over the Southeastern United States, and Milton hit Florida’s west coast on October 9th. The duo caused $300 billion in damages and took the lives of 250 people (Wilcox & Jacobs, 2024). Millions of homes and businesses faced week-long power outages, schools endured closures, and Milton even took the roof off of the Tampa Bay Rays stadium (Sanders, 2024).
However, the two storms were vastly different. Hurricane Helene was an instance of rapid intensification, becoming a Category 4 hurricane two days before landfall– an increasingly common phenomenon with the effects of climate change (Hersher, 2024). The storms also differ in their paths: Helene first landed in Florida’s Big Bend before continuing north, wreaking havoc in Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Weeks after the storm hit, there were still 100,000 people in North Carolina’s Asheville without running water, 11,301 people still waiting for power to be restored, and some areas still waiting for potable water (Howe, 2024). The hurricane’s impact inland was brutal, with intense rainfall causing horrific flooding throughout the Southeast.
Milton, in many ways, was the reverse. Several days before landfall, the storm intensified to a massive Category 5 hurricane, causing panic throughout Florida, still reeling from Helene. Milton was forecasted to land in Tampa Bay, which has not had a direct hit in over a century and where the storm surge would cause horrific damage. However, the storm weakened and hit Florida just south of Tampa, in Siesta Key, as a Category 3 storm before continuing straight over Florida and back into the Atlantic. Miraculously, the storm also hit at low tide, drastically reducing the effects of the storm surge and relieving meteorologists' biggest fear. While the storm still caused significant damage, the worst-case scenario was avoided. However, this storm was still unusual, causing over 140 tornado warnings across Florida, some of the same force as ones seen in the Midwest. One tornado hit a retirement home in St. Lucie, causing four deaths (Milman, 2024).
Overall, this year has seen some harsh storms, emphasizing the importance of understanding the measures for hurricane relief. Organizations like the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, DirectRelief, Feeding America, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) all aid those recovering from these storms. The primary function of the aid is search-and-rescue missions. FEMA and the Department of Defense (DOD) sent out 6,500 National Guardsmen, 26 helicopters, and over 500 water vehicles to rescue people stranded by the storm. They also sent out hands to provide support with debris control, roof support, and flood control, attempting to salvage these counties (Olay, 2024). These relief efforts help save lives in the wake of these tragic disasters.
References
Cortez, Julio. “Although Milton Has Moved On, at Least Eight Are Dead and Millions Remain in the Dark.” TIME, Time, 11 Oct.
2024, time.com/7086008/hurricane-milton-death-toll-power-outage-aftermath/
Hersher, Rebecca. “Abnormally Warm Water Helped Helene Rapidly Intensify and Suck up Moisture.” NPR, 27 Sept. 2024,
www.npr.org/2024/09/27/nx-s1-5130849/helene-category-4-fast-warm-water-climate-change.
Howe, Steve. “Helene by the Numbers: What They Tell Us about the Devastation, Cost of Recovery.” The Asheville Citizen Times,
Asheville Citizen Times, 13 Oct. 2024, www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2024/10/13/helenes-impact-on-north-carolina-by-the-numbers/75663328007/.
Milman, Oliver. “Tornadoes, Mass Outages and Deaths: What to Know about Hurricane Milton’s Impact.” The Guardian, The
Guardian, 10 Oct. 2024, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/10/hurricane-milton-what-to-know.
Mock, Cary. “How Hurricane Helene Became a Deadly Disaster across 6 States.” University of South Carolina, 7 Oct. 2024,
www.sc.edu/uofsc/posts/2024/10/conversation-hurricane-helene-deadly-disaster-six-states.php.
Olay, Matthew. “DOD, FEMA Working in Unison on Hurricane Relief Efforts.” U.S. Department of Defense, 10 Oct. 2024,
Ramirez, Rachel, et al. “What Hurricane Helene’s 500-Mile Path of Destruction Looks Like.” CNN, Oct. 2024,
www.cnn.com/2024/10/01/weather/hurricane-helene-path-of-destruction-climate-dg/index.html.
Sanders, Hank. “Hurricane Milton Destroys Roof of Tropicana Field, Home of Tampa Bay Rays.” The New York Times, 10 Oct. 2024,
www.nytimes.com/2024/10/10/us/tropicana-field-milton-tampa-bay.html.
Wilcox, Christie, and Phie Jacobs. ““Daunting”: Hurricane-Battered Researchers Assess Damage from Helene and Milton.”
Science.org, 21 Oct. 2024, www.science.org/content/article/daunting-hurricane-battered-researchers-assess-damage-helene-and-milton#:~:text=By%20some%20estimates%2C%20Hurricane%20Helene,killed%20at%20least%20250%20people.
