Hurricane Milton, Non-Voting Christians, and a Nobel Prize for AI

Tipping Point Quick Hits (10.10.24)

Catastrophe as Hurricane Milton Makes Landfall

After fluctuating between a Category 4 and Category 5 storm over the past 48 hours, Hurricane Milton slammed into western Florida—which is home to more than 3 million people—last night as a Category 3 hurricane, with sustained wind speeds of 120mph and a storm surge that peaked at 10 feet in Sarasota County. Thankfully, the hurricane hit south of Tampa Bay, allowing the heavily populated area to escape the worst storm surge.

It then crossed over Florida and exited the state as a Category 1 storm on the eastern side. It is now tracking out into the Atlantic Ocean.

This morning, more than 3 million people were without power. At least four people are known to have been killed.

Yesterday, at a news conference, Gov. Ron DeSantis said he had deployed 9,000 members of the National Guard and more than 50,000 utility workers from as far away as California to help with recovery efforts. Officials had issued mandatory evacuation orders across 11 Florida counties, impacting a total population of nearly 6 million people. Prior to the arrival of the hurricane, the media was already referring to Milton as a “nightmare scenario.”