At least 10 dead in Florida due to tornadoes associated with ‘Milton’

Sarasota. The powerful hurricane Milton devastated central Florida from east to west on Wednesday night, causing flooding and deadly tornadoes, two weeks after another devastating cyclone.

GALLERY: ‘Extremely dangerous’ Hurricane Milton makes landfall, batters Florida coast

The federal government reported at least 10 deaths due to the cyclone. “In our opinion, these deaths were caused by the tornadoes” that formed by MiltonHomeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Thursday.

“This storm produced many tornadoes,” Governor Ron DeSantis confirmed this Thursday on CNBC, who said he feared that the weather phenomena would cause numerous deaths.

The Mexican consular authorities in Florida have no reports of compatriots who have lost their lives or are reported missing due to the impacts of the hurricane.

Meteorological services had warned of the risk of tornadoes associated with the hurricane.

Miltonwhich on Thursday morning left Florida behind and is in Atlantic waters, also “caused flooding in places like Daytona Beach and Saint Augustine”, on the east coast of the peninsula, he said, but also in the heart of Florida, such as Orlando, where Disney World theme parks remained closed as a precaution.

However, the worst-case scenario appears to have been avoided, especially on the West Coast.

“Marine immersion was not as significant as during the hurricane Helene a few weeks ago,” DeSantis said, noting that Milton It had decreased in intensity and changed course slightly before making landfall.

The Republican governor spoke by telephone this Thursday morning with Democratic President Joe Biden, according to the White House, who had warned several times that Milton had the strength to be one of the most destructive hurricanes in the last century.

In a video published this Thursday, the Republican candidate for the White House, Donald Trump, said he was “saddened by the devastation” caused by Milton.

The former president, who resides in Florida, said he “prays” with his wife Melania for those affected by the hurricane.

“Good luck”

The western coastal city of Sarasota came back to life Thursday morning as residents rushed to survey the damage.

“I think we’ve been very lucky,” Carrie Elizabeth told AFP. “It will take time to clean up, but it could have been a lot worse.”

However, Biden appealed in X to the population to “stay home” for the moment.

Farther north, in the Tampa Bay city of St. Petersburg, the hurricane ripped off the roof of the Rays baseball stadium and caused a crane to collapse.

More than 3.3 million Florida homes were without power Thursday morning, according to the specialized website poweroutage.us.

Milton made landfall on the west coast of Florida on Wednesday night as a category three hurricane – on a scale of five – and made its way strongly into the interior of the state, before reaching the Atlantic on Thursday.

Although it has left the peninsula, the hurricane continues to generate powerful winds and “heavy rains” over central and eastern Florida, warned the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Deterioration

Two weeks after the hurricane Helene hit the same region, causing the deaths of at least 237 people throughout the southeastern United States, including at least 15 in Florida, Milton worried authorities more due to the saturated soil and the debris that was still in the streets. .

Third most populated state in the country and a magnet for tourists, Florida is used to hurricanes. But climate change, by warming sea water, causes them to intensify rapidly, increasing the risk of more powerful phenomena, according to scientists.

For Professor John Marsham, an atmospheric scientist, “many aspects of Helene and Milton are very much in line” with what specialists predict in terms of climate change.

“Hurricanes need warm oceans to form, and record-breaking ocean temperatures are fueling these devastating storms. Warm air holds more water, causing heavier rain and more flooding,” he explained.

At the same time, “sea level rise due to climate change is causing an increase in coastal flooding.”

Temperatures in the North Atlantic have reached record levels this year, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States (NOAA).

With just over a month to go before the elections, Helene’s move took on a political dimension, with Republicans and Democrats clashing over aid intended to assist the victims.

Trump accused the Democrats of having reacted late to the hurricane, a recrimination vehemently rejected by Biden and the Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris.

“I hope that on January 20 they have someone who will truly help them,” said the Republican candidate in his video this Thursday, alluding to the inauguration date of whoever wins the next elections.

No reports of Mexicans killed by ‘Milton’

As of this afternoon, the Mexican consular authorities in Florida have no reports of compatriots who have lost their lives or are reported missing due to the impacts of the hurricane. Milton in some counties of this state of the United States.

This was confirmed in an interview with The Day the head of the Mexican consulate in Orlando, Juan Sabines. “At the moment we do not have any Mexican person deceased or missing,” he stated.

Sabines stressed that the instruction of Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente is to pay attention to the Mexican community abroad, since it is a priority in the foreign policy of the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum.

He indicated that after the passage of the meteor —category 3 and that upon impact in Florida it reached winds of up to 205 kilometers per hour and torrential rains—, Mexican people in that state have reported through various WhatsApp groups operated by the consulate that they are good.

Most of their comments revolve around doubts about the conditions in the communities after the hurricane, whether there will be mobile consulates that go to counties with the greatest impact and requiring documents due to their loss.

“At the moment they are only asking for information about services, nothing delicate,” said the consul, who insisted that fellow citizens continue to pay attention to the instructions of the local authorities.

He recommended that if there are no conditions to return to their homes, they remain in the shelters installed in the 51 counties that suffered the impacts of Milton.

As he said yesterday, although there is fear of the thousands of Mexicans who live in this state due to the anti-immigration law and the risk of being deported, Sabines reiterated that no shelter requests documents with immigration status to receive people.

This means, he acknowledged, has also caused countrymen to seek various forms of transportation in Florida, including to get to the consulate, so as part of the community care services there will be a mobile consulate service. On Saturday, October 19, he said, they will visit Hillsborough County, one of the most affected and with the largest number of compatriots.

The diplomat highlighted that there is a record with consular license plates of 250 thousand Mexicans in the affected counties, although there are many more, and many of them are dedicated to agricultural, construction and service activities.

He even highlighted that due to work in the field, the number of compatriots with an H2A visa has grown, most of them originating from indigenous communities, and the number of those who do not have a regular immigration status has decreased.

He reported that starting tomorrow, Friday, the consulate headquarters in Orlando will operate during normal hours.