At least 16 people have died and more than two million homes are still without electricity, mostly in Florida, after the destructive passage of Hurricane Milton, according to a provisional report announced Friday. The southeastern US state was already hit hard two weeks ago by Hurricane Helene. Now, rescue teams are focusing their efforts on removing debris and restoring essential services throughout the affected counties, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Friday.
Although the toll of property damage from the hurricane was less than expected by experts and authorities, Florida was “hit hard,” DeSantis said in a press briefing, emphasizing that “much remains to be done to return to normal”.
According to a study published Friday, the intensity and frequency of hurricanes are the result of climate change.
“Hurricane Milton’s strong winds and devastating rains were partly fueled by human-caused climate change,” said the study from World Weather Attribution, a team of scientists that assesses the contribution of climate change. to extreme weather conditions.
Storms with precipitation similar to those caused by Milton “are twice as likely to occur due to global warming,” according to the same source. It concluded that the winds accompanying the hurricane were 10% stronger and the precipitation – almost 13 cm of rain in an hour – 30% more abundant than in a world not affected by greenhouse gas emissions.
