Tom Feeney stated, “Two things Florida can teach the other 49 states: how to make a good margarite and how to deal with the aftermath of a hurricane.” While this statement may bring a smile to our face, those who have survived a traumatic hurricane realize it is no laughing matter. Hurricanes are one of the most severe natural disasters that plague the earth. One of the most significant was Hurricane Michael which slammed into the United States in October of 2018. How can we prepare for hurricanes and how do we survive the aftermath? Jodi Picoult said, “In reality you don’t ever change the hurricane, you just learn to stay out of it’s path.” Sadly, for many, this is much easier said than done.
Hurricane Michael just came out of nowhere! It was a storm that no one was expecting. On Sunday hurricane Michael was really just a group of storm clouds that were hanging around the Yucatán Peninsula. By Sunday night it was going at a quick pace across the Gulf of Mexico and speedily turned from a category two storm into a category four storm. It was late in the hurricane season for a storm of this magnitude to develop Usually warmer temperatures make stronger storms, so it was unusual for a storm to be this size in October. Michael made its way through Florida and Georgia.
Hurricane Michael made landfall near Mexico Beach and once on the Florida Panhandle it was a Category 4 storm early on Oct. 10, 2018. Hurricane Michael made landfall near Mexico Beach, Florida, on October 10, as the strongest storm of the season. As it moved inland, the storm weakened and headed toward Chesapeake Bay. It was weakening to a tropical storm over Georgia and transitioning into a cyclone off the coast of the Mid-Atlantic states on October 12. Michael later strengthened into a powerful cyclone and eventually impacted the Iberian Peninsula. It eventually went away on October 16.
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“Economists found that the storm caused $158 million in agricultural losses in Florida alone. It wiped out nearly one million acres of crops”. (Faussett) Winds of up to 155 miles per hour appeared to pick the cotton fields clean, wiping out almost all of the state’s crop, with losses totaling $51 million. The storm also depleted the Southeast’s crop of peanuts, fruits, vegetables, and pecans. Hurricane Michael left immense destruction in its wake. “The storm surge washed out roads and foundations, high winds and rain-soaked ground caused roofs, trees, and power poles and lines to fall.
Estimates of property damage are in excess of $4.5 billion.” (Gibbens) By October 28, a total of 35 people were officially confirmed to have been killed by Hurricane Michael. By January 11, 2019, the death toll in Florida had increased to 47 with the total fatalities totaling 72. It’s unclear what type of physical injuries survivors of hurricane Michael sustained. However, injuries emotionally and financially are too many to count. So many people lost their homes and livelihoods and they may never recover from the loss.
On Saturday, October 13, Animal Humane Society picked up 88 dogs from animal shelters in Hurricane Michael’s path. More than 120 dogs needed to be adopted. Hurricane Michael also hit Zoo World hard. “The zoo in Panama City Beach confirmed two of its big cats died because of the storm.” (Livingston) Losses from Michael could top $4.5. Approximately $1.5 billion to $3 billion of that is in residential losses. There was another $500 million to $1 billion in commercial losses.
Natural disasters can be violent and devastating and hurricanes are some of the most destructive storms that Mother Nature can dispense upon the earth. Of the top five most destructive natural disasters in history, two of them were hurricanes. Hurricane Michael was the strongest storm on record in the Florida Panhandle, and was the fourth-strongest landfalling hurricane in the contiguous United States.
There are some far-fetched scientific ideas out there that suggest there may be a way to prevent a hurricane. Ideas such as sending an atomic bomb into one or cooling the ocean waters down. It seems like that could cause more damage than the hurricanes themselves. It’s best to pay attention to the forecast and predictions when hurricanes are imminent and build your homes to be hurricane safe and make the preparations that is needed when forecasters warn that a hurricane is coming.
There are some far-fetched scientific ideas out there that suggest there may be a way to prevent a hurricane. Ideas such as sending an atomic bomb into one or cooling the ocean waters down. It seems like that could cause more damage than the hurricanes themselves. It’s best to pay attention to the forecast and predictions when hurricanes are imminent and build your homes to be hurricane safe and make the preparations that is needed when forecasters warn that a hurricane is coming.
Works Cited
- Faussett,Richard. “Hurricane Michael Leaves Trail of Destruction as it Slams Florida’s Panhandle.” Google Search, Google 2018, www.google.com /amp/s /www.newyorktimes.com/ 2018/10/10/us/hurricane-michael-florida.amp.html.
- Gibbens, Sarah. “Updated: How Hurricane Michael’s Storm Surge and Wind Impacted Florida.” Google Search, Google, 2018, www.google.com/amp/s/relay/.nationalgeographic.com/proxy/ distribution/public/amp/environment/2018/10/news-hurricane-michael-florida-explained.
- Livingston, Ian. “Historic and Horrendous Hurricane Michael by the Numbers.” Google Search, Google 2018, www. google. com/amp/s/www. washingtonpost.com /ammphtm /weather /2018 /10/12/histioric-hurricane-michael-numbers/.
