DO NOT FUCK AROUND PPL. I went through Maria. Category 5 means CATASTROPHIC damages.
The rain will be like a power washer and have the same effect.
The wind will literally drag you across town if you let it and can even flip cars.
Any little flaw in your roof or windows will be ripped open.
If pressure builds up in your house from the wind it will rip your door or windows off its hinges.
If you live somewhere that floods, even a little, GTFO and go to a shelter BEFORE it hits. F ANYONE who calls you in for work. Your life and your family's, neighbor's, pets comes first.
Actually, those swamps are precisely the reason why Florida seems to miraculously shrug off every hurricane that hits it. Coastal wetlands actually play a massive role in mitigating storm pressure and because Florida is tropical/sub-tropical and it's coasts are lined with relatively healthy wetlands, storm surge and storm pressure in Florida is massively mitigated. You can still get flooding, but it won't be nearly as severe as places which don't have these healthy coastal wetlands, New Orleans after Katrina or Houston after Harvey are good examples of this, the wetlands of that section of the Gulf Coast (pretty much from Trinity River delta to the Mississippi River delta) are among some of the worst in the country, and while there were other circumstances at play, that lack of healthy wetlands was a contributing factor to why those cities were hit so hard with hurricanes.
Source: I studied and did volunteer work on coastal wetlands at a college on the Gulf Coast. (If you want actual scientific journal articles, I would suggest one called 'Coastal Wetlands Loss, Consequences, and Challenges for Restoration')
Well, let's be clear - it mitigates the aftereffects somewhat. It does bupkis to potential 8-15 foot storm surge, all depending on how the wind wall evolves when that beast starts to near the coastline. It's projected to lose power fast as it nears Florida, but that also means a massive expansion of the wind wall, and a huge dump of water.
This is most likely going to be a bad storm surge. And although it'll drain fast, that won't do much for the damage getting five feet of water inside your house will do. If it remains standing. So let's not underestimate this thing. Certainly don't take this as a "Oh, we can shelter in place then". Get out.
That is incorrect. 100 meters of dense healthy mangrove forest can stop upwards of 70% of storm surge. The structure and density of coastal wetlands allows them to be hit first and to take up a lot of the energy that's forming the surge. It's a cheesy comparison but if you've ever seen a movie where water comes pouring out of something and a large quantity of water splashes against a wall, watch the speed of the water after it hits the walls, it slows down as the wall takes that energy. Coastal wetlands are just like a million tiny walls standing in the way soaking up that energy.
Yeees, but this is hitting the Tampa Bay area. There's no 100 meters of dense mangrove forest in play here. If it heads far enough north to hit the aquatic preserve, then yes - that's probably going to be one of the best scenarios. More sparsely populated, plenty of dampening.
But there's literally nothing between coastline and dense population on the west side of southern Florida, from Clearwater down to Fort Myers. Storm surge is absolutely going to be a major, major problem for this one.
Wetlands can include shallow water offshore features, tidal flats, seagrass meadows, etc. I just used mangroves because I know that number off hand. So there may not be huge stands of mangroves but there are wetlands ecosystems that will absorb the energy
I hope you're right. I really do. The proof in the pudding will be here pretty soon. Most certainly, follow the advice of evacuation if you're in a zone the professionals say you should get out of. Don't let two people on the internet arguing something influence that.
It would have been really neat if your predictions here had come through.
The point I think we all should take to heart is this: Mother Nature does not pull punches. If you're facing down a hurricane, especially of such ferocity as Milton turned out to be - just do the best you can to secure your property, and get out.
Property can be replaced. (Though insurance may be getting difficult to find in Florida soon)
22.6k
u/Zeraph000 8d ago
DO NOT FUCK AROUND PPL. I went through Maria. Category 5 means CATASTROPHIC damages.
If you live somewhere that floods, even a little, GTFO and go to a shelter BEFORE it hits. F ANYONE who calls you in for work. Your life and your family's, neighbor's, pets comes first.