Hurricanes torment Florida

Ryan Phillips - Sports Editor

Hurricane Helene and Milton leave a number of Monmouth students affected by the tragic rounds of storms that struck Florida's Gulf Coast in late September into early October.

On September 27th, a category 4 hurricane, Helene, struck the Florida Gulf Coast with wind speeds of 140 mph and a storm surge that flooded the region up to 15 feet of ocean water. The storm moved north from Florida, affecting the United States’ southeast region.

A couple weeks, on October 10th, Florida residents, including Monmouth student Braeden Brauman and his family, learned from the National Weather Service (NWS) that a category 5 hurricane, Milton, was on radar, barreling toward the Tampa Bay region after going from category one to five in just 22 hours. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declares a state of emergency after NWS’s prediction of a storm surge to top at ten feet.

Brauman’s family’s eyes took to the storm with the realization a direct hit was possible. “My grandma was on the beach, and we were first expecting it to land at a category four or category five,” Brauman said. “The original path was going right over her house.”

Milton's power suddenly weakened after a wind shear appeared at the last second, causing the impressive Atlantic hurricane to drop to a category three at landfall. The storm’s surge continued in its salty quest to drown the Gulf region.

“A lot of the wildlife has been displaced, and I have been hearing from my family that gators are ending up where they're not supposed to be and snakes ending up where they're not supposed to be because of all the flooding,” Brauman said.

The winds took power from more than three million Floridians. Milton’s rotation included 41 tornadoes to top off the travesty, eventually moving northeast out of the state.

Brauman and his family are no strangers to the evils of mother nature. On August 30th, 2017, hurricane Irma made its way to Florida. “Irma took a tree out, and it fell on my house right above my sister's room, and we ended up losing the house because there was too much damage,” Brauman said.

Thankfully, Brauman’s life at Monmouth College offers support from the terrible hurricanes that hit Florida this past month. “My fraternity brothers at Phi Delt were really helpful, keeping my mind off of it,” Brauman said. “I had a couple professors who helped me out too, and they gave me a couple extensions on assignments because I was trying to communicate with my family.”

Helene and Milton’s death toll is currently at 268 people.

If you’re interested in helping individuals affected by the disaster, you can donate to the hurricane relief effort at www.redcross.org.