Hurricane Milton stunned meteorologists and climate scientists with its ferocity. But disinformation is threatening to cloud the public’s understanding of the science while further entrenching political opposition to climate action. Milton made landfall Wednesday night as a Category 3 storm about 50 miles south of Tampa. It knocked out power to more than 3 million customers, stirred up more than 140 tornadoes statewide, and caused catastrophic flooding and damage that left at least 12 people dead. The storm underwent such a rapid intensification before making landfall, it shocked even veteran storm watchers. John Morales, chief meteorologist at NBC6 in Miami, became emotional while describing Milton’s intensity, knowing the kind of destruction it would bring. “This is just horrific,” he said in a clip that went viral. Hurricane Helene followed a similar pattern of escalation two weeks earlier, gaining speed rapidly before blazing a path of destruction across the Southeast, where hundreds of people remain without power. Unusually warm oceans, driven by greenhouse gas emissions, helped supercharge the back-to-back storms. If global temperatures continue to rise, future storms could make landfall even faster. But the U.S. is already struggling to pay for disaster recovery. Milton is the fifth named storm since Hurricane Helene hit, and nine days into the fiscal year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has blown through nearly half its disaster funding for the next 12 months. ‘Beyond ridiculous’: Preparation for and recovery from the two storms have been complicated by a cloud of disinformation from conservative influencers making the rounds on social media. The latest claim: that the government “engineered” Hurricane Milton. On platforms such as X and TikTok, posts falsely claiming the federal government is controlling the weather have drawn millions of views. Many of the accounts spreading such conspiracy theories also popularized misinformation about Covid-19 and the 2020 election. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden called out Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who has posted and reposted remarks on social media suggesting the spate of hurricanes are being engineered to target Republican districts. “It’s beyond ridiculous,” Biden said. “It’s got to stop.” Disaster recovery officials, scientists and some Republicans are also trying to push back against the spread of disinformation, which they say could prevent survivors from seeking help and put relief workers at risk. Those include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who denounced online claims that FEMA planned to seize evacuated Floridians’ homes.
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