Tampa, FL – El miércoles 10 de octubre, alrededor de las 8:30 p.m., Milton impactó aproximadamente 40 millas al sur de la Bahía de Tampa como un huracán de categoría tres. Ni siquiera han pasado dos semanas desde el huracán Helene, y los daños causados por Milton han sido devastadores.

Antes de que el huracán Milton impactara, la demanda de gasolina en Tampa ya había vaciado muchas estaciones de servicio. Días después, la gasolina es difícil de conseguir, con el 77% de las estaciones sin combustible el viernes. Las pocas estaciones con suministro tienen filas de una hora, vigiladas por policías estatales.

“La fila era tan larga que literalmente daba la vuelta a la calle un par de cuadras. La gente estaba peleando por la gasolina, daba miedo”, dijo Valentina Beron, una residente de Tampa que esperó en la fila para obtener gasolina.

La noche del miércoles también comenzaron los cortes de electricidad en la zona de la Bahía. En su punto máximo, 2,5 millones de hogares perdieron electricidad. Desde el viernes, más de 200.000 casas han recuperado el servicio, pero se desconoce cuánto tiempo más tendrán que esperar millones más.

El huracán Milton también afectará el mercado de seguros en Florida. En 1992, el huracán Andrew provocó una serie de altibajos que expulsaron a muchas aseguradoras del estado. Una de las pocas que quedan es Citizens Property Insurance, que cubre 1,2 millones de pólizas. El 20% de estas pólizas están en los condados de la Bahía.

Aunque Citizens afirma tener suficientes fondos para pagar todas las reclamaciones, la pregunta es cuántos de sus propietarios tendrán sus reclamaciones aprobadas y por qué monto. Durante el huracán Ian en 2022, investigaciones independientes encontraron que casi la mitad de todas las reclamaciones de seguros fueron rechazadas. Incluso las reclamaciones aprobadas podrían ser ajustadas a un pago menor del que fue solicitado.

Si empresas como Citizens rechazan una reclamación, un propietario en Florida tiene pocas opciones, gracias al gobernador Ron DeSantis. La única opción es demandar, pero en 2022, DeSantis redujo el tiempo para presentar una reclamación y estableció que los titulares de pólizas tendrían que demandar de su propio bolsillo, sin importar el resultado del caso. Coincidentemente, el comité político de DeSantis aceptó millones en donaciones de profesionales de la industria de seguros.

Las reacciones al huracán Milton pintan un panorama alarmante sobre el futuro de Florida. Necesidades como la gasolina, la electricidad y los hogares pueden volverse fácilmente inalcanzables.

#TampaFL #FL #Environment #PeoplesStruggles #NaturalDisasters #ClimateChange

Tampa, FL – On Wednesday, October 9, Hurricane Milton made landfall in Siesta Key, Florida as a Category 3 hurricane that devastated the state. Five days later, Tampa Bay residents are still experiencing power outages, gas shortages and widespread damage to their homes.

According to PowerOutage.us, 400,000 customers in Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee and Sarasota counties still do not have power. The largest number of outages are in Hillsborough County, where over 150,000 Tampa Electric (TECO) customers remain without power. The CEO of TECO promised the county that 100% of customers will have their power restored by Thursday, October 17.

In the past year, TECO has been under fire, with customers protesting their unprecedented rate hikes. With residents already struggling to pay rent and get food on the table, TECO promised that the rate hikes would mean shorter power outages for customers. By Thursday it will be over a week since the devastation of Milton caused millions to lose power.

Most of those living in the Tampa Bay region without power are those who live in working class and largely immigrant communities. These communities have been forced to go back to work despite the loss of power to their homes. While residents are left in the dark, the city quickly restored power to Central Command’s MacDill Airforce Base and tourist attractions like Busch Gardens.

The shortage of gasoline remains an issue felt by all those living in Tampa. Even before Milton hit, the demand for gas had emptied gas stations across Tampa Bay. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis did not step in to provide gas for Florida residents until the Saturday after the hurricane. Even then, the state only provided three distribution sites – Plant City, Saint Petersburg and Bradenton – leaving many still without the means to get fuel.

Had the governor taken precautions before the hurricane hit the state, Tampa residents would not have gone to lengths to hoard gas or had to wait in hours-long lines just to fill up their cars. As of Monday afternoon, 50.4% of Tampa and Sarasota area gas stations are without fuel.

Throughout the region, large trees and downed power lines still block off many streets. On Sunday, Governor DeSantis announced that he would be using the Florida Department of Transportation, the Florida State Guard, the National Guard, and the Florida Highway Patrol to help with city and county debris removal. Of the at least 23 people who died from the hurricane, one woman in Tampa, one man in Orlando, and one man in Polk County died while clearing the debris in their yards post-Milton.

Residents impacted by Milton can now apply for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Last month, all 11 Florida Republicans in Congress voted down a resolution that would have provided billions in additional disaster relief funding.

Donald Trump and Republicans across the country have been spreading misinformation that FEMA is refusing to help people in Republican areas and is instead using funds to house immigrants. This propaganda has led to individuals threatening FEMA personnel in North Carolina who were providing aid after Hurricane Helene. As a result, these emergency personnel were forced to evacuate and pause their relief efforts in the area.

The state of Florida and Governor DeSantis had time to prepare for the devastation that Milton was projected to bring. Instead, Florida residents were left to fend for themselves in the midst of destruction, flooding, power outages and gas shortages.

#TampaFL #FL #PeoplesStruggles #NaturalDisasters #Environment #ClimateChange #FEMA #Feature