Hurricane Milton
The impact of the powerful Hurricane Milton on the west coast of Florida, where it will probably land on Wednesday night, could cause financial damages of up to 175 billion dollars (almost 160 billion euros), according to preliminary estimates.
“While it is too early to estimate insured losses,” the impact of a hurricane like Milton in one of Florida’s most populated regions “could result in double-digit and multi-billion dollar losses,” according to statements by Wall Street analysts reported on CNBC.
The toll on devastation and losses could be even higher, at $175 billion, once the eye of the hurricane makes landfall, likely in the Tampa Bay area on Florida’s central west coast.
When comparing historical data, analysts say one only needs to look back two years, when Hurricane Ian struck near the Fort Myers area as a Category 4 hurricane: Ian’s lash left more than $50 billion in losses.
If Milton continues its path through the more developed Tampa region, “the potential losses could be even greater,” Jeffries analyst Yaron Kinar said.
“market appears to be pricing in a loss of more than $50 billion at this point.”
— Wells Fargo,
The firm has set a wide range for potential damages, ranging from $10 billion to $100 billion.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) also warned that “today is the last day for Florida residents to prepare” at home or evacuate designated areas if local authorities so advise.
Category 4 Hurricane Milton is packing maximum sustained winds of 250 kilometers per hour today and, based on a probable trajectory pattern, “the center is likely to make landfall along the west-central coast of the Florida peninsula on Wednesday night.”
US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that Hurricane Milton could be the “worst” to hit Florida in a century and called on people in the storm’s path to evacuate as soon as possible.
Florida is still trying to recover from the damage caused by Helene, which hit the northwestern part of the state 12 days ago and left behind a trail of destruction that Moody’s estimates at around 11 billion dollars.
In addition to property damage, Moody’s estimates that the National Flood Insurance Program will likely suffer losses of close to $2 billion.
Thousands of residents continued to evacuate parts of Florida’s west coast on Tuesday, many heading to shelters set up ahead of the arrival of Milton, an “extremely dangerous” hurricane with catastrophic winds, storm surge, and flooding.
This is possibly the largest evacuation since 2017 in the face of the threat of this powerful hurricane, which will cross almost the entire state from west to east starting on Wednesday before heading out to the Atlantic.
