Hurricane Milton first began forming off the east coast of Mexico, before making its way across the Gulf of Mexico, and eventually hitting Florida. However, it was not just any one of the minor hurricanes that Floridians have long grown accustomed to; Milton was classified as a Category Five hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale for storms, where, “wind speeds [were] equal or greater than 157 mph,” according to an article released by the Convoy of Hope. As the hurricane passed through Florida, it ultimately downgraded to a Category One. Although the impact it left behind was significantly less severe than initially feared, the aftermath still brought considerable challenges.
Business Owners
It is second nature for us to look into the impacts of such intense natural disasters on citizens, which is still just as crucial, but far too often do we look past how businesses, especially small businesses, are affected. Small business owners put in lots of hard work and dedication into fulfilling their dream jobs. So when Hurricane Milton finally reached their shores, their dreams came crashing down—on top of the abundance of homes that Milton wrecked. The blood, sweat and tears they had poured into launching their businesses were swept away, leaving them to rebuild from the ground up, perhaps with even greater determination than before. In an article published in WJTV News, Rhoda Moehring, a rental homeowner in Steinhatchee, Florida said that she, “doesn’t have a lot of faith that insurance companies will help salvage the flooded rental homes.” Even with the Small Business Administration, which is supposed to aid in low-interest loans to business owners, owners are not receiving the help they need. The current administration has recently run out of money to aid businesses in need financially, and Congress cannot replenish it until after the upcoming election. As a result, many businesses find it difficult to pour their trust into these administrations fully. While there are areas in which pieces can be put back together, the physical disasters are sorrowful and add baggage for owners who are already struggling to make ends meet with their businesses.
Environment
It goes without saying that a hurricane like Hurricane Milton had a devastating impact on the environment, but how exactly did Milton worsen the already challenging ecological conditions? And with these worsened conditions how will hurricane survivors be put at a health risk? Journalist Lisa Sorg said in an article for InsideClimate News that the contaminated water that flooded “could contain harmful bacteria such as E. coli, which can contaminate private water wells in North Carolina.” Clearly, what this implies for citizens is that they are at risk of being exposed to this toxicity, as it rushes its way into private wells, streams and rivers. If people are contaminated by these bacteria, they can develop infectious diseases, more so among those who are ill, have unhealed wounds or are generally immunocompromised. Furthermore, the threats to human life can have equally severe consequences for marine life. Poor water quality and stormwater runoff, “create toxic algae blooms that kill fish and even threaten human life when aerosolized,” Mark Patterson stated in the Northeastern Global News. Even though Hurricane Milton has subsided, the aftermath on the environment is not pretty,which is why recovery is imperative.
Picking Up The Pieces
Many organizations make it their top mission to respond to natural disasters. For instance, Convoy of Hope & Hurricanes serves communities impacted by storms by distributing key resources such as food and water. Another impactful organization is All Hands and Hearts,a nonprofit organization that encourages widespread volunteers and donations. All Hands and Hearts has impacted over 1 million lives and their disaster relief efforts for Hurricane Milton encompass debris removal, home assessments, muck and gut operations and much more. These organizations, among many more, play a significant and profound role in the restoration of land, and in doing so, they also contribute to the recovery of emotional damage that many were tainted with.
Written by Allisson Rodriguez
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons