Ahead of Hurricane Milton's landfall, a Weather Channel video from several years ago showing the potentially devastating effects of a Category 5 hurricane is being recirculated online.
Two videos provide 3D models of the damage caused by the destructive winds and storm surge associated with powerful hurricanes.
Milton is expected to hit the Florida Gulf Coast with 160 mph winds and a storm surge of up to 15 feet, potentially causing once-in-a-century damage to the western region between Tampa and Sarasota.
Nearly 6 million Floridians have been ordered to evacuate or face death.
“If you choose to stay here… you're going to die,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor bluntly warned residents on CNN, as a “literally devastating” hurricane barrels toward the Sunshine State. He added that
Meteorologist Mark Elliott demonstrates how hurricane-force winds can literally tear houses apart. weather channel video From August 2013.
“When it comes to hurricanes, each one has a slightly different impact, but the wind speeds we talk about along the Saffir-Simpson scale are very specific, and the damage caused in those categories is very specific.” [are] It was kind of expected,” Elliott said in a video from 11 years ago.
Next, walk through a 3D model of a home affected by the increasingly faster winds of Category 1 to 5 hurricanes.
The Category 1 storm, with winds up to 95 mph, blew off some of the house's roof shingles. In a Category 4 storm, powerful wind gusts knock down most trees and destroy nearly every window, while a Category 5 monster blows off the roof of a house and causes walls to begin caving in.
“This is just devastating damage, but it's also wind-driven, and there are other hurricane impacts, and they all change throughout the season,” Elliott said of the highest category storm impacts. .
The other is Weather Channel Video, 2018 The situation before Hurricane Florence hit the Carolina coast shows how terrifying storm surge can be, even in inland areas.
Follow The Post's latest coverage of Hurricane Milton.
This clip shows what different levels of storm surge look like in a residential area through a 3D model of flooding.
The meteorologist said in the video that 1 to 3 feet of water is “certainly enough to throw your feet out.” “There's definitely a chance that cars could stall, cars could be taken away, and there's certainly a chance that a lot of low-rise structures could be flooded.”
The video shows modeled water rising to the level of a parked car's windows, floating trash and other items.
The water then rises to a height of 6 feet, reaching above the forecasters' heads and beneath road signs, carrying away parked cars.
“Now imagine water six feet deep. For example, water carrying a large object like a car can act like a battering ram and spread damage, and it can also cause a lot of damage. We also know that there is a possibility of flooding in the lower floors of buildings,” he says.
The water level is well above forecasters' heads and road signs, and continues to rise to 9 feet, just as predicted for Hurricane Florence at the time. Hurricane Milton is expected to bring an even higher storm surge of 6 feet.
“This leaves single-story buildings and structures completely covered and underwater, which certainly poses a danger to many people,” he says. “Few places are safe when water levels rise this high, so please follow the advice of local authorities and heed any evacuation advisories.”
Milton is expected to make landfall late Wednesday.
