10-4 Magazine November 2024

70 10-4 Magazine / November 2024 Then, if all that devastation wasn’t enough, just two weeks after Helene roared across Florida and the southeast, Hurricane Milton made landfall at Siesta Key as a Category 3, again hitting the Tampa and St. Petersburg areas, and dumping more than 18 inches of rain. They are saying this was a 1 in a 1000 year event. Streets were turned into rivers, filling houses and businesses with water, while the wicked winds tore buildings apart. Those winds ripped the roof off Tropicana Field, which was set to be a makeshift shelter for the first responders. The storm also collapsed a tall crane into an office building, leaving a gaping hole in the 46-story building. In addition to the rain, wind, and storm surge, Milton also created a record-breaking number of tornadoes across the state. The east side of Florida was hit especially hard, in places like VeroBeach, Ft. Pierce, and Port St. Lucie, where they were braced for a hurricane, not the tornadoes it spawned. Many of these were F3 tornadoes like the ones seen in Tornado Alley on the plains. Mother Nature has changed lives before, and she will do it again. But, in the aftermath of all her destruction, we see how people come together to help those in need. New friendships are made, and men and women will keep working together to rebuild what once was. Our prayers go out to everyone that have lost loved ones, pets, and have been affected by these record-breaking storms. There will be continued need for years to come on the long road these people have to recover and rebuild – and most of that relief will come via our friends and fellow drivers and their trucks, once again proving just how important and vital we truckers really are. n