The shape of Florida will change forever because of the power of Hurricane Milton.images: getty, montage: watson
With the West Coast poised to be devastated by Milton, experts are already predicting damage that will permanently upend the sunshine state’s coastline. With serious consequences.
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More than 8 million residents have fled Florida’s west coast as one of the most powerful hurricanes in the state’s history approaches. Milton will hit the coast near the city of Tampa in a few hours and the predictions are catastrophic. So much so that experts predict the “destruction of the bay”. While the hurricane constantly oscillates between category 4 and 5, macabre advice follows one another in an attempt to save as many human lives as possible.
“It’s over, friends. Those of you who were affected by Hurricane Helene, it’s going to be a real knockout. You need to get out and you need to get out now. Or never again”
Cathie Perkins, director of emergency management for Pinellas County, during a press conference Wednesday morning.
The devastation will not only be human and material, but also topographical. For many decades, the 1,320 kilometers of coastline and sandy beaches that embrace the “sunshine state” have been regularly shaken by hurricanes. And depending on the power of the latter, the coasts drastically change their face.
If Hélène has already flooded most of the west coast around ten days ago, the “monster” which is approaching will definitely change the course of the coastline. And for a mathematical reason that is as simple as it is dramatic, according to the latest analyzes from the United States Geological Survey.
“Milton’s waves and storm surges could cause 100% of ocean-facing beaches to erode and overtop”
In other words, the coastline should emerge permanently transformed from Milton Passage. A hurricane of such power that it is “the most severe level of coastal change” the state has experienced to date. And this upheaval will not only be cosmetic. If storm surges are indeed going to eat away forever at a large piece of coastline, it is the dunes that will disappear. And without these dunes, populations already weakened by previous hurricanes will be squarely at the mercy of Mother Nature.
Ponte Verde, Florida, before and after Irma in 2017.
As recalled ABC News“Large waves unleashed by Hurricane Nicole in 2022 damaged more than a dozen coastal structures in Flagler and Volusia counties, causing a state highway to collapse in some locations and flooding complete in others. A danger that also hits the wallets of regions eaten away by storms, the United States Geological Survey told us on Wednesday:
“Extreme erosion puts already critical infrastructure at risk, potentially leading to considerable economic losses”
Not to mention that “upland development, recreational interests, wildlife habitat, or important cultural resources are threatened or lost forever,” the USGS concludes. Finally, be aware that sea levels across the state are about 8 inches higher than they were in 1950, according to the Florida Climate Center, cited today by ABC News.
In a few hours, Hurricane Milton will sow death in its path and destroy for the umpteenth time the face of one of the most fragile states in the United States.
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