Hurricane Michael: How bad is it?

Hurricane Michael is causing a whopping amount of damage. The panhandle of Florida and the area surrounding it are being greatly affected. In the beginning, many predictions believed Hurricane Michael to be a small hurricane in the low stages, but it is currently a stage 4 monster. So, what happened?

Hurricane Michael was a decent sized storm and we thought it’d be ok. Bad, but tolerable. As of the past week though, it has proven to be worse than Katrina, with record- breaking low air pressure. When it hit Florida, wind speeds were at 155 miles per hour causing mass devastation. In some areas, the storm surge was 8 to 12 feet high, drowning entire neighborhoods and homes. Not only that, but 800,000 people are left with no power, and many even, no home. The damage is still being assessed and search teams are still going through the rubble looking for survivors. Nearly 20 people have been recorded dead, and the toll still rises.

Hurricane Michael started out small, just like any other storm, but when it clashed with the climate of Florida, the warm temperatures and humidity made it 10 times worse. It is officially the 3rd worst hurricane to hit America. It sounds crazy, but trees downed by the storm are extremely dangerous because they flow with the water. Floods packed with trees cause a lot of damage as the trees get caught in buildings and make getting away much harder and more risky.

According to CNN, this hurricane may cause a domino effect of tornadoes in many other states. Most tornadoes caused by hurricanes hit anywhere from 50 to 200 miles away from the eye of the hurricane, putting many more areas prone to destruction. Even so, most building codes won’t stand anything compared to the upcoming effects of Hurricane Michael. Our thoughts are with the victims of this bad storm, and we hope that it’ll get better for our Southern and Eastern friends at risk of such bad storms. WILDCATS OUT!!!

 

Yan, Holly. “Why Hurricane Michael Is a Monster Unlike Any Other.” CNN, Cable News Network, 11 Oct. 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/10/10/us/hurricane-michael-dangers/index.html.