Milton Leaves Wake of Destruction on the Heels of Helene

Oct 14, 2024

Thirteen days after Helene struck Florida, Milton slammed south of Tampa Bay with a 10-foot storm surge. This left no time for recovery. Huge piles of debris left by Helene became serious hazards in Milton. Even before Milton made landfall, it spawned over a hundred tornadoes—many in places where people evacuated to escape Milton. Homes destroyed, workplaces destroyed, lives destroyed or left in shambles.

Ahead of the storm, the mayor of Tampa Bay warned people: “Leave or you will die.” Those ominous words were not an evacuation plan. They do not give people the means to evacuate. Even some of the first responders recognized that there were economic reasons why people could not evacuate on command.

Nineteen years ago, Katrina slammed into New Orleans. Officials left it up to the population to evacuate, knowing full well that many people did not have cars. Then, those same officials cynically blamed people for dying. “They refused to leave.” They didn’t refuse to leave—they had no means to leave.

This is not a case of government officials not learning the lessons of the past. No. This is the result of how capitalism is organized around profit. The government funnels taxpayers’ money into enriching the capitalist class. It is simply not organized around human needs, including disaster preparedness, which requires planning ahead as well as funding. For example, military forces could have been used to evacuate people. City buses, school buses, private charter buses could have been utilized. Motels and hotels could have been free. But none of that can happen in a society organized around profit for a tiny minority.

This was a hurricane, during hurricane season, but the disaster it left in its wake was anything but natural. Capitalism and its drive for profit magnifies the destructive power of every storm.