First Hurricane in More Than a Decade Hits Florida

By Yessenia Funes Sep 02, 2016

Hurricane Hermine hit Florida early Friday morning (September 2). The first hurricane to make landfall in the state in over a decade, it arrived as a Category 1 hurricane and is continuing north toward Georgia and the Carolinas.

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Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency Wednesday (August 31) in 51 counties. “At this time, we expect storm surge of upwards of six feet in some parts of our state,” Scott said, in the online statement. “We also anticipate total rainfall amounts of five to 10 inches of over portions of Northwest Florida and isolated tornadoes.”  

Tens of thousands of homes have been hit with power outages, reported Reuters.  In addition, a homeless man in the city of Ocala died after a tree fell on him, according to ABC News. Tampa and Orlando are among the cities most at risk—and both are predominantly comprised of people of color.

Th hurricane comes a little less than a month after severe storms hit Louisiana, causing massive flooding and destroying 100,000 homes. While natural disasters cannot be tied to the effects of climate change until an assessment is done, scientists do predict that these sorts of disasters will increase in intensity and frequency.