Egypt Daily News – American authorities announced the initial toll of the victims of Hurricane “Milton,” which swept the coasts of Florida in the southern United States on Wednesday night, indicating that 4 people were killed, reiterating that it remains “dangerous,” while economic experts predicted that its losses could reach 175 billion dollars.
Despite its weakening on Thursday, U.S. authorities described the hurricane as remaining “dangerous.” According to the Al-Hurra website, which cited the National Hurricane Center in a bulletin issued at 20:30 (00:30 GMT Thursday), Milton made landfall with the strength of a “very dangerous” Category 3 hurricane on a scale of 5 ascending categories.
The hurricane began to sweep through the coasts of Florida in the southern United States on Wednesday night, accompanied by strong winds, heavy rains, and flash floods, marking the start of a long and extremely harsh night for the residents of an area that was hit by another devastating hurricane just two weeks ago.
Hurricane Milton arrived just two weeks after the devastating Hurricane Helen struck Florida and other southeastern states, causing significant destruction and heavy human losses.
Hurricane Milton struck Florida on Thursday and remains “extremely dangerous” according to authorities, despite its weakening, depriving more than 2.5 million homes of electricity and causing flooding.
In the evening, winds reached speeds of 165 kilometers per hour, as the same source explained, with authorities warning of the risk of flooding.
Milton’s classification dropped to Category 1 on a scale of 5 categories on Thursday morning, but the American Hurricane Center still considers it “strong.” US President Joe Biden warned on Wednesday evening that Milton is expected to be “one of the most destructive hurricanes in a century in Florida.”
Expected economic losses
Analysts at Jefferies predicted on Monday that Hurricane Milton would cause economic losses estimated in the tens of billions of dollars when it makes landfall in Florida.
Analysts said, “While it is too early to make estimates of insured losses, the impact of the major hurricane in one of the most densely populated areas of Florida could lead to losses in the tens of billions of dollars.” While others on Wall Street, according to a report on CNN’s website, say that the once-in-a-century Milton hurricane could cause damages exceeding $50 billion, with a possibility of destruction nearing $175 billion or more in the worst-case scenarios.
Yaron Kinar, an equity analyst at Jefferies and others, said in a note, “While it is too early to make estimates of insured losses, the impact of the major hurricane in one of the most densely populated areas of Florida could lead to a mid-double-digit billion-dollar loss.”
Some estimate that the once-in-a-century event will result in losses of $175 billion in the Tampa area and $70 billion in the Fort Myers area.
Disney World and the parks in Florida are facing losses.
The Walt Disney Company’s parks division is expected to incur losses ranging between $150 million and $200 million due to the impact of Hurricane Milton, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs, who based their estimates on previous storms, including the $100 million impact of Hurricane Irma in 2017.
Over the weekend, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 51 counties, including those that contain every major theme park in the state.
In addition to Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, owned by Comcast, and SeaWorld Orlando, owned by United Parks and Resorts, may be affected, as all the parks announced their closure on Tuesday.
