Connect with us

Florida

Satellite images show how Hurricane Milton reshaped parts of Florida coastline

Published

on

Satellite images show how Hurricane Milton reshaped parts of Florida coastline


Hurricane Milton lashed Florida’s Gulf Coast with flooding rain and winds of 120 miles per hour that left homes — and, in some cases, full neighborhoods — drenched, muddied and dilapidated. At least 24 deaths have been blamed on the storm, officials confirmed to CBS News.

Satellite images illustrate the scope of the damage in coastal communities along the western part of the Florida peninsula, near the Sarasota barrier island of Siesta Key where Milton made landfall Wednesday, Oct. 9, as a powerful Category 3 hurricane. 

Satellite images taken before and after the passing of Hurricane Milton show building and roof damage in Siesta Key on Oct. 10, 2024.

Advertisement

Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS


The images, captured one day after the storm struck the region, show beaches in Siesta Key and Anna Maria Island, another barrier island just north of Milton’s landfall site, darkened and damaged, each riddled with murky sand that appears to push inland toward the surrounding streets and buildings. They appear to the left side of satellite images taken of the same areas before the latest hurricane. 

CBS News correspondent Nicole Valdes flew over Siesta Key with the Florida National Guard on Friday, observing vast devastation from above as loose metal and other debris littered the landscape. This area was among the Gulf Coast communities struggling in the wake of back-to-back hurricanes, as Hurricane Helene rammed into the region less than two weeks before Milton arrived.

anna-maria-island-before-after.png
Satellite images taken before and after Milton show flooded streets and storm debris in Anna Maria Island.

Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS

Advertisement


Anna Maria Island’s beaches remained closed Tuesday, according to the region’s severe weather information center, as did government offices like the island’s chamber of commerce building. In Siesta Key, a boil water notice was still in place and Fisherman’s Haven and Sanderling Road, at the lower edge of the barrier island, did not yet have water restored, Sarasota County officials said.

holmes-beach-before-after-2.png
Satellite images taken before and after Milton show sand and water on the streets in Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island.

Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS


Another satellite image shows destruction in Clearwater, near Tampa and St. Petersburg, where first responders used high-water vehicles and boats to rescue families who were trapped inside of a local apartment complex. 

“We lost everything, I lost everything, there was about 10 feet of water in my apartment right, because I tried to go back in and grab some stuff, and it rising, rising, it was up to my chest,” one man who lives in the complex told CBS News.

Advertisement

Some homes in the nearby Tampa area were almost completely submerged underwater after the storm, while the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office conducted dozens of rescues and evacuated more than 135 residents from an assisted living facility.

clearwater-before-after.png
Satellite images taken before and after Milton passed over Clearwater. 

Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS


In Cortez, a fishing village also located along the coast in Sarasota County that was damaged by both Helene and Milton, a satellite shows debris covering roads and the docks that line the waterfront. Both hurricanes battered the historic village, tearing down trees and power lines and reducing buildings to piles of rubble. 

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune published additional photos of homes and docks in Cortez that completely collapsed. Milton also ripped off a portion the roof of a condominium in the area, with satellite images taken over that section of the village showing debris scattered on the ground and spread across the area around it.

Advertisement
cortez-village-before-after.png
Satellite images taken before and after Milton show damage to Cortez and its coastal businesses.

Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS


In Manasota Key, on the western coast of Florida just south of Sarasota, Milton’s storm surge sent massive boulders and at least one boat up the beaches and hurled them into waterfront buildings. Heaps of sand left in the hurricane’s wake were piled 6 feet tall in some places, reported CBS News’ Tom Hanson from the island. Hanson described “a devastating scene” and said the sand resembled “snow drift from a blizzard” that coated both the insides and outsides of homes.

The beach was diminished from Milton, Hanson reported, and Gulf waters were much closer to shore than they had been before the storm.

After Milton knocked out power to some 3 million people in Florida, officials said they expected electricity to be fully restored across the state by Tuesday night. Meanwhile President Biden has authorized an additional $612 million in federal aid to help areas in Florida and North Carolina affected by Milton and Helene.

Advertisement



Source link

Advertisement

Florida

Evacuations underway as crews battle multiple wildfires in Georgia and Florida

Published

on

Evacuations underway as crews battle multiple wildfires in Georgia and Florida


  • Now Playing

    Evacuations underway as crews battle multiple wildfires in Georgia and Florida

    04:45

  • UP NEXT

    Northeast blasted with sudden snow and freezing temperatures

    01:41

  • Millions Clean up Destructive Aftermath of Severe Midwest Storms

    02:03

  • Tornado touches down in Minnesota while historic flooding threatens Wisconsin

    02:09

  • Deadly weather slams Midwest

    01:56

  • Early Spring Heat Wave Scorches Nearly Half of the United States

    03:46

  • Dangerous tornadoes rip across Midwest

    01:53

  • Massive tornadoes tear across Midwest

    01:59

  • Dangerous weather continues to slam parts of the country

    01:26

  • Dangerous storms rip across country’s center

    01:30

  • Historic floods batter Hawaii 

    01:22

  • Hawaii Faces Worst Flooding in 20 Years; Thousands Evacuate

    00:20

  • Major flood emergency prompts mass evacuations and rescues in Hawaii

    01:51

  • Thousands ordered to evacuate as dam nears failure on Oahu

    01:50

  • Potentially record-setting heat wave scorches western United States

    01:46

  • Midwest slammed by record-shattering blizzard

    02:19

  • Powerful storm system slams Midwest as East Coast braces for impact

    02:36

  • Millions Face Extreme Weather With Possible Blizzards, Tornadoes

    00:46

  • Violent March weather

    01:40

  • Two killed in tornado outbreak

    01:58

NBC News NOW

Crews in Florida and Georgia are battling multiple fast-moving wildfires, stoked by dry and windy conditions. Local officials in Georgia said people in the path of the flames should be ready to evacuate. 

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Florida

Florida investigating AI role in mass shooting at university

Published

on

Florida investigating AI role in mass shooting at university


Florida on Tuesday announced a criminal probe into whether artificial intelligence played a role in a deadly mass shooting at a university in the US state.

The decision to launch an investigation came after prosecutors reviewed exchanges between OpenAI chatbot ChatGPT and the suspected gunman, who opened fire at Florida State University last year, according to state Attorney General James Uthmeier.

“If ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder,” Uthmeier said.

Florida law allows anyone who assists or counsels someone in the commission of a crime to be treated as an “aider and abettor” bearing the same responsibility as the perpetrator, according to Uthmeier.

In exchanges with ChatGPT, the accused shooter sought advice on what type of gun and ammunition to use, as well as where and when on campus a lot of people would likely be found, the state attorney general said during a press briefing.

Advertisement

“Last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime,” an OpenAI spokesperson said.



Source link

Continue Reading

Florida

Florida wildfire strands Amtrak passengers for over 24 hours

Published

on

Florida wildfire strands Amtrak passengers for over 24 hours


A massive wildfire in Putnam County in northern Florida left Amtrak passengers stranded on a train for more than 24 hours.

One train heading to New York City was forced to turn around, arriving back in Miami Monday night, including one passenger who said he had been on that train for about 38 hours.

He says he and other passengers were left uncertain about what was going on.

“Angry, confused, uncertain, in the dark,” said John Reardon.

Advertisement

Reardon, who lives in New York City, says he boarded the train around 7 a.m. Sunday to go back home. He said around 3 p.m. Sunday, the train stopped near Jacksonville.

“Finally, after about 5 hours, they said we’re not going to New York, we’re going back to Miami,” Reardon said. “One stop at a time.”

Amtrak said for the safety of its passengers, the train couldn’t continue going north because of the fire.

“Amtrak sends a notification to the phone saying, ‘Hey, there’s an issue with the wildfire, it’s too close to the railway,’” said passenger Katrinia Wheeler.

Multiple crews are battling multiple fires in two Florida counties, leaving at least 3,000 acres burned. 

Advertisement

“I saw that there was a lot of smoke coming from the woods, and then I saw the fire trucks and emergency services,” Wheeler said.

The train that left Miami at 7 a.m. on Sunday returned around 9 p.m. on Monday, leaving passengers frustrated.

Amtrak corporate says they made the decision out of safety for their customers and said customers would receive full refunds and vouchers.



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending