The devastating hurricane has landed in Florida
A terrifying simulation has shown just how deep flooding could be as Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida.
For days, Florida has been bracing for the huge storm to hit the state, with millions having evacuated.
Over night, the category one hurricane made landfall. A “number of deaths” have been reported on the Atlantic coast and around 2.6 million homes and businesses are without power, the BBC reports.
Along with extreme winds and rain, another of the dangers Hurricane Milton poses is storm surges.
A storm surge is where a storm or hurricane causes a change in sea level as high winds push seawater towards the coast, causing widespread flooding.
Milton was anticipated to bring as much as a 9-feet surge to the Florida’s west coast.
To put into context just how destructive this could be, the Weather Channel showed a simulation of how deep waters could get in built-up areas such as Tampa, the city most at risk from Milton.
Meteorologist Stephanie Abrams was able to demonstrate the predicted scale of the surge with simulation technology. As she stood on an animated street, the water in the animation began to rise around her.
The graphics began by showing what three feet of water would look like, with Abrams warning this would already be a “life-threatening” level.
“At 3 feet above normally dry ground, water is already life-threatening. It’s too late to evacuate,” she explained.
“Water this high can knock you off your feet, make cars float, and driving impossible. The first floor of homes and businesses are flooded.”
The water then rose to 6ft, a depth at which “vehicles get carried away” and “structures start to fall.”
Abrams warned that “anything can be in this water – sharp glass, debris, chemicals as well.”
The animation then raised the water to the potential level of 9ft, towering over the presenter and submerging buildings.
“The scary part is some areas could see surge values at 10 to 15 feet,” Abrams said. “At this level, the first floors of structures are completely flooded and there are few places that it is safe when the water rises this high.”
Hurricane Milton is expected to bring a destructive storm surge to Florida's west coast. @StephanieAbrams uses our FloodFX simulation technology to show you what that could look like
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) October 8, 2024pic.twitter.com/rg996zNHy2
The simulation has been viewed by millions online, with many labelling it “terrifying” as it highlighted the danger Hurricane Milton posed.
One person commented: “That’s absolutely terrifying.”
Another said: “This will be catastrophic.”
“God bless and protect all habitants of the region,” a third wrote.
“This is the wildest simulation I’ve ever seen. Hoping everyone in the area has evacuated,” a fourth person commented.
At one point Hurricane Milton had been a category five storm, but it has weakened to category one now.
The hurricane comes two weeks after Hurricane Helene killed at least 225 people in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina.
