FX168 Financial Press (Asia Pacific) News Hurricane 'Milton' located about 500 miles southwest of Tampa is expected to make landfall along the Gulf Coast of Florida on Wednesday night (October 9th) as a Category 3 storm, with evacuation time running out. Jefferies Financial analyst stated that it could lead to $175 billion in losses for the Tampa area.

The Tampa National Meteorological Bureau warned: 'If the storm continues on its current path, it will be the most severe storm to hit the Tampa area in over 100 years, with 'Milton' posing a potentially catastrophic threat to parts of the western coast of Florida.'

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According to forecasts, 'Milton' is expected to produce a more intense storm surge in the Tampa area than Hurricane Helena did a few weeks ago.

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US President Biden told reporters that 'Milton' could be the most serious storm to hit Florida in over a century.

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Jefferies financial (Jefferies) stock analyst Yaron Kinar and others stated in a report: "Although it is still early to estimate insurance losses now, one of the most densely populated areas in Florida is hit by a strong hurricane, potentially causing losses of billions of dollars. Some estimate that a once-in-a-century hurricane making landfall in the Tampa area would result in a $175 billion loss, while the Milesburg area would face a $70 billion loss."

(Source: CNBC)

If historical comparisons are to be made, analysts only need to look back at the situation two years ago when Hurricane "Ian" hit the Milesburg area with a Category 4 hurricane, causing over $50 billion in losses. "Ian" was considered a hurricane that occurs once every 20 years.

"If Milton's path crosses the more developed Tampa area, potential losses could be even greater," Kinar said.

Wells Fargo & Co pointed out that currently the market seems to have already factored in losses exceeding $50 billion, larger than the losses caused by Hurricane "Ian". The bank has set a wide range of potential losses, ranging from $10 billion to $100 billion.

The region has already been severely affected - Hurricane "Helen" swept through the area 12 days ago, causing an estimated $11 billion in losses according to Moody's on Tuesday. In addition to property damage, Moody's estimates that losses from the National Flood Insurance Program could be close to $2 billion. However, the company's analysts have not yet assessed the potential losses from "Milton".

Moody's Chief Risk Modeling Officer Mohsen Rahnama said: "So far, Hurricane 'Helen' has been the most impactful event of the 2024 hurricane season, but with Hurricane 'Milton' set to hit Florida in the coming days, this situation could change rapidly."

Moody's also points out that many of the most severely affected areas by Hurricane 'Helen' do not have flood insurance, "meaning that most of the losses are uninsured, economic and property losses far exceeding the insured losses," said Firas Saleh, the company's Director of U.S. Inland Flood Modeling.

The International Space Station has just orbited over "Milton".

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told residents that there is "not much time" to evacuate the area, as the largest evacuation operation in the state since 2017 has been underway for several days.

"Basically, the entire Florida Peninsula is under some form of alert or warning," DeSantis told reporters in a storm briefing. "You have time today, but time is running short. You have time to heed any evacuation orders and take necessary measures to protect yourselves and your families."

"Milton" poses an extremely dangerous threat as it churns near the Yucatan Peninsula and rapidly moves towards the Gulf Coast of Florida, expected to make landfall late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning local time.

Latest storm data indicates that Milton is undergoing an eyewall replacement cycle. This means that as the eye expands, the strongest winds extend further outward from the center.

NHC's peak storm surge forecast shows that "Milton" could create a water wall of up to 15 feet in Tampa Bay, Sarasota, and Venice.