Bloombers News
MIAMI
EnergiesNet.com 10 10 2024
For the reinsurance industry, Milton may prove to have been something of a lucky escape, Bloomberg Intelligence insurance analyst Charles Graham says. The reduction in storm intensity to Category 3 as the hurricane made landfall may have significantly reduced the scale of insured losses from wind damage. Claims could be large but not exceptional, though concern about Florida’s vulnerability to hurricane risks will remain.
Douglas Lytle
Bloomberg Intelligence Editor
13m ago 04:35
For the reinsurance industry, Milton may prove to have been something of a lucky escape, Bloomberg Intelligence insurance analyst Charles Graham says. The reduction in storm intensity to Category 3 as the hurricane made landfall may have significantly reduced the scale of insured losses from wind damage. Claims could be large but not exceptional, though concern about Florida’s vulnerability to hurricane risks will remain.
Douglas Lytle
Bloomberg Intelligence Editor
Updated 1m ago
28m ago 04:20
Hurrican Milton will soon be gone from Florida and out over the Atlantic ocean. It gets light in Tampa Bay in just over three hours — only then will residents start to get a real idea of just how much devastation the storm has wrought.
Will Kennedy
Executive Editor, Energy and Commodities
33m ago 04:14
Across Florida, more than 3 million customers were without electricity early Thursday, according to website poweroutage.us. In Hardee County, in the central-western part of the state, almost 100% of those tracked had no power.
Brian Wingfield
Energy and Commodities Editor
42m ago 04:06
Eastern Florida is now getting battered by intense winds, the National Hurricane Center said in an update at 4 a.m. Eastern time. The center of the storm, near Cape Canaveral, is starting to move offshore. Maximum sustained winds are little changed at around 85 miles per hour.
Brian Wingfield
Energy and Commodities Editor
Updated 39m ago
47m ago 04:01
Duke Energy Florida notes that Hurricane Milton caused “extensive damage” to its service area, adding that crews will be making repairs as soon as conditions allow. However, the outage map on the utility’s website wasn’t accessible at 4:00 a.m. Eastern time.
Brian Wingfield
Energy and Commodities Editor
Updated 33m ago
53m ago 03:54
Hurricane Milton has made landfall near Tampa, Florida as a powerful Category 3 storm, with winds strong enough to tear homes apart and storm surge capable of swamping some coastal cities
https://t.co/sKB1qL9hzI pic.twitter.com/LL4ZgBZSrF— Bloomberg (@business) October 10, 2024
Unni Krishnan
Senior Editor, Newsdesk
1h 19m ago 03:29
Follow Bloomberg’s Hurricane Milton Tracker for the latest on the storm’s position. It also includes watches and warnings in effect, along with the forecast for storm surge and rainfall.
Brian Wingfield
Energy and Commodities Editor
Updated 1h 17m ago
1h 25m ago 03:23
A flash-flood emergency is still in place over parts of west-central Florida, the National Hurricane Center said in an update at 3 a.m. Eastern time.
The center of the storm is currently about 30 miles (45 kilometers) east-southeast of Orlando. Maximum winds have slowed a bit, to 85 miles per hour. It’s still a Category 1 hurricane.
Brian Wingfield
Energy and Commodities Editor
1h 27m ago 03:21
Much of the west coast of Florida southward of Tampa is currently under a storm surge watch or warning issued by the National Weather Service, according to a coastal inundation dashboard maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
A large stretch of the state’s east coast, from around Palm Bay and stretching north beyond Jacksonville, is also at risk of inundation as Milton moves across the peninsula. St. Johns River, in northeastern Florida and the state’s longest, could see water levels rise up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) above ground, according to the National Hurricane Center.
1h 31m ago 03:16
Milton comes right on the heels of Hurricane Helene, which severely damaged the electric grid in Florida and destroyed hundreds of transformers on the barrier islands near Tampa, Melissa Seixas, president of power company Duke Energy Florida, said in an interview on Wednesday.
The downed trees and other wreckage left behind by Helene represent new dangers now that Milton is tearing through the region. “Those piles of debris have the potential to become projectiles or missiles in the wind,” she said.
1h 35m ago 03:13
A bit more detail on the hurricane’s path, from the NHC’s most recent update:
The center of Milton will continue to move across the central part of the Florida during the next few hours, and emerge off the east coast of Florida around sunrise.
Brian Wingfield
Energy and Commodities Editor
2h 11m ago 02:37
A key thing to watch today will be the storm surge, essentially the amount of sea the hurricane pushes onto land. On Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center was forecasting a storm surge of as much as 15 feet in the Tampa Bay area.
The NHC’s advisory at 2 a.m. Eastern on Thursday now says the storm surge in Tampa could reach five feet. Further south, from Anna Maria Island to Bonita Beach, it could reach seven feet. The risk of flooding remains high.
Brian Wingfield
Energy and Commodities Editor
Updated 2h 8m ago
2h 16m ago 02:32
Here are some observations from a local reporter for Tampa Bay Times:
Speechless. We are at the entrance to our Tampa Bay Times office in downtown St. Petersburg.
A crane is blocking the road, and several stories up, smoke billows out of the building from where it appears the crane fell
Smell of gas in the air and you can hear alarms
#MILTON pic.twitter.com/RxUDTWd9md— Max Chesnes (@MaxChesnes) October 10, 2024
Unni Krishnan
Senior Editor, Newsdesk
2h 22m ago 02:26
Florida is getting soaked by heavy rain, with the National Hurricane Center forecasting as much as 18 inches (46 centimeters) will be dumped across some regions. The agency warned that “rainfall will continue to bring the risk of catastrophic and life-threatening flash and urban flooding.”
Ben Sharples
Asia Commodities Editor, Hong Kong
Updated 1h 11m ago
2h 28m ago 02:20
The National Hurricane Center is out with its latest advisory, as of 2 a.m. Eastern time. “Very heavy rains and damaging winds continue across much of central Florida,” it says. “Flash flood emergencies remain in effect.”
Maximum winds are around 90 miles (150 kilometers) per hour, making Milton a Category 1 storm — but it’s still very dangerous. It’s set to remain a hurricane while crossing Florida this morning and then slowly weaken as it moves into the Atlantic.
Brian Wingfield
Energy and Commodities Editor
Updated 2h 17m ago
2h 34m ago 02:14
ABC reported Wednesday night that winds from Hurricane Milton tore large holes in the roof of Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays, a Major League Baseball team.
The stadium was being used as a staging area for first responders.
Brian Eckhouse
Team Leader, Power & Natural Disasters Americas
Updated 1h 41m ago
2h 39m ago 02:08
We’ll bring you live updates here as Floridians start to asses the scale of the disaster that Milton has wrought. In the meantime, here’s our most recent story detailing its landfall south of Tampa.
Hurricane Milton Strikes Near Tampa With Devastating Rains
Will Kennedy
Executive Editor, Energy and Commodities
2h 43m ago 02:05
One of the first things that hurricanes tend to impact is power supply, and outages have crept up overnight as Milton crossed the coast and tracked inland. More than 2.5 million homes and businesses in Florida are now without electricity, according PowerOutage.us.
Residents will need to wait for daylight to assess the damage, but storm surge and flooding may complicate efforts to restore power for many.
Ben Sharples
Asia Commodities Editor, Hong Kong
Updated 46m ago
2h 50m ago 01:58
Milton surprised some forecasters on its march to Florida. On Sunday, meteorologists expected the storm to peak at Cat 4, with an outside shot of Cat 5. By midday Monday in the state, it hit that mark and kept getting stronger and stronger.
It then slowed some, but remained a major hurricane. The one thing that has been clear for days: this is a life-threatening storm that promised up storm surges of at least one foot in some places.
Brian Eckhouse
Team Leader, Power & Natural Disasters Americas
2h 59m ago 01:49
Hello, and welcome to Bloomberg’s live blog for Hurricane Milton. I’m Brian Eckhouse, team leader for the Power & Natural Disasters team in the Americas.
I will be joined by colleagues across the globe to cover the catastrophic hurricane that came ashore Wednesday evening near Siesta Key, Florida, with winds of 120 miles (193 kilometers) per hour. It made landfall as a Category 3 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale.
Brian Eckhouse
Team Leader, Power & Natural Disasters Americas
Updated 2h 56m ago
17h 1m ago 11:47
Welcome to TOPLive. Hurricane Milton has made landfall in Florida, bringing high winds, heavy rains and a possibly catastrophic storm surge. It’s the second hurricane in less than a month to strike the state.
Follow TOPLive for breaking news on the human and economic toll.
bloomberg.com 10 10 2024
