Flooding from Hurricane Milton appears to have been more extensive than initially determined, affecting almost 185,000 buildings all across Florida, says a new analysis from ICEYE, a firm that uses satellite images to measure damage for the insurance industry.
The analysis, the 11th and final look at Milton’s reach, shows that parts of the east and west coasts of Florida, along with inland areas, saw at least two feet of water during and after the Oct. 9-10 storm. More than 13,000 structures saw more than five feet of flood or storm surge.
“We observed storm surge from Bradenton southward to Naples, and 10-15 inches of rainfall from St. Petersburg through Orlando,” the report noted. “Riverine flooding continued through the second half of October as the floodwaters slowly moved downriver.”
The most-affected counties were Hernando, Volusia, Orange, Broward and Highlands. In Hillsborough County, the ICEYE map shows that some 74,000 structures were affected.
Cities most affected included Tampa, Grant-Valkaria, Naples Manor, Bradenton and Cape Coral. The Naples area, which endured some storm surge in Hurricane Ian in 2022, saw more than two feet of water in some areas and more than five feet in other spots, the map shows.
Buildings in east coast areas from Daytona Beach south to Port St. Lucie also experienced several feet of floodwaters.
By comparison, Hurricane Helene, which made landfall in late September, impacted some 165,330 buildings across seven states. The heaviest surge and flooding was seen in Asheville, in North Carolina; and in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Fort Myers in Florida.
ICEYE said it utilized more than 100 satellite images to build the analysis.
Top photo: Homeowner Robert Turick, 68, left, and storm waste removal contractor Sven Barnes work to clear debris that Hurricane Milton’s storm surge swept from other properties into Turick’s canal-facing back yard, in Englewood, on Oct. 11. Turick, whose family has owned the home for more than 25 years, said it had never flooded until 2022’s Hurricane Ian, but since then, it has flooded in three more hurricanes, each bringing higher water levels than the last. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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