Space: Videos show massive hurricane “Milton” – like in a disaster movie

Like in a disaster movie
Videos from space show massive Hurricane Milton

Like in a disaster movie: Videos from space show a huge storm "Milton"

Watch the video: Videos from space show massive Hurricane Milton. Video source: rtl.de


State of emergency in Florida: Hurricane “Milton” will soon hit the USA. The danger is huge – because the cyclone is considered the largest in the region in the last 100 years.

In a dramatic appeal, US President Joe Biden called on Florida residents to seek safety from the approaching Hurricane Milton. “It’s a matter of life and death, and that’s not an exaggeration,” warned Biden on Tuesday (local time). According to the US Hurricane Center NHC, the hurricane is expected to make landfall on Florida’s coast on Wednesday evening (local time).

“Milton” could reach Florida as the “worst storm in more than a century,” warned Biden, who had postponed his visit to Germany planned for this week because of the hurricane. Residents of vulnerable areas should seek safety “now, now, now.” As it moved across the Gulf of Mexico, “Milton” increased in strength again and, according to the NHC, again reached the highest hurricane level 5, with wind speeds of up to 270 kilometers per hour inside.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned that large parts of the state were threatened by “Milton”. Several airlines set up additional flights from Tampa, Orlando, Fort Myers and Sarasota to allow residents to leave the danger area. Long traffic jams formed on the highways and gas stations ran out of gas. In the areas devastated by storm Helene two weeks ago, helpers worked frantically to clear debris that could be thrown around as dangerous projectiles by Milton.

High storm surge threatens – many follow evacuation calls

Hurricane expert Michael Lowry warned that the Tampa region with its three million inhabitants is threatened with a storm surge twice as high as that caused by Storm Helene two weeks ago. In Tampa, dozens of people waited in their cars outside a sports facility to pick up sandbags to protect their homes. John Gomez, 75, ignored authorities’ warnings and traveled from Chicago to try to secure his vacation home in Florida against the storm. “I think it’s better to be here in case something happens,” Gomez said.

The young mother Katie, on the other hand, followed the evacuation call and drove with her five-year-old son and the family dog ​​from the coastal town of St. Petersburg further inland to Orlando. She usually waits out a friend’s apartment at high altitude during storms, “but this time I’m not taking any risks,” she said.

Florida and other states in the southeastern United States were hit by storm Helene at the end of September. At least 230 people were killed, numerous buildings were damaged or completely destroyed, and large areas were flooded. This makes “Helene” the most serious storm to hit the mainland USA in the past 50 years, after Hurricane “Katrina” in 2005.

hurricane "Helene": Before and after pictures show the extent of the destruction (video)

Before and after pictures show the extent of the destruction

01:08 minutes

“Milton”: Storm consequences become an election campaign issue

The consequences of the storm have become an issue in the presidential election campaign in the USA. Republican candidate Donald Trump spread misinformation and falsely accused the government of diverting disaster aid intended for storm victims to immigrants.

Biden condemned Trump’s comments on Tuesday as “un-American,” while Vice President Kamala Harris warned of the consequences of disinformation. “That’s absurd. Man, don’t you have any compassion for other people’s suffering?” she said indirectly to Trump in an interview with talk show host Stephen Colbert.

According to scientists’ findings, “Helene” was ten percent heavier and rainier due to climate change. A rapid analysis published on Wednesday by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) research initiative also comes to the conclusion that man-made global warming has increased the likelihood of such strong storms in the region by two and a half times. Mathematically, this means that such storms can now be expected every 53 years instead of every 130 years as before.

mth
AFP

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