Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday night and left a trail of devastation as it churned across the state from Florida’s Gulf Coast. But on top of the lives lost, the power outages affecting millions of Floridians, and untold property damage, Milton also managed to break something less tangible—a lot people’s brains. Here are some of the most unhinged responses to Hurricane Milton.
Who Made Milton?
With any natural disaster there comes a desire to understand the deeper mechanics of the world that would allow such tragedy to happen, and Hurricane Milton is no different. Plenty of theories have been thrown out as to what “made” Milton, and many of them have one thing in common: It definitely wasn’t climate change. Couldn’t be. No way. It must have been the CIA using some type of hurricane gun.
Painfully harebrained claims like these made the rounds on social media ahead of Milton’s landfall from overnight weather experts and most famously from a sitting member of Congress.
DeSantis Responds to Hurricane Conspiracy Theories
When people make outlandish and ill-conceived conspiracy theories, it falls on the shoulders of the more level-headed among us to dispel such notions. And that’s where Gov. Ron DeSantis comes in…sort of.
During a Thursday press conference, the governor made it clear that the government has no role in the creation of hurricanes. Because that’s ridiculous. As equally ridiculous, the governor says, is the idea that climate change causes worse hurricanes. Of course, leave it to the governor who removed all references of climate change in state law to put climate change in the same far-fetched camp as “the government controls the weather.”
Price Gouging
No tragedy would be complete without businesses going out of their way to price gouge victims. In the days leading up to Milton, more than 200 price gouging complaints were made about fuel and water. According to reports, most of the complaints were filed in Highlands, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. Fortunately there’s a way to make these businesses pay. To file a price gouging complaint, call Florida Attorney General’s Price-Gouging Hotline at 1-866-966-7226.
Lieutenant Dan!
A one-legged Tampa man known as “Lieutenant Dan” went viral ahead of Milton’s landfall for refusing to abandon his boat in Tampa Bay and evacuate. His reasoning was explained in a TikTok video where he said “If you’re on land it’s gonna flood, [you’re at risk] of drowning. I’m in a boat. The boat goes up with the water. Even if the boat goes up 100 feet in the air, I’m gonna be up 100 feet in the air with water.” The laws of physics aside, it looks like Dan got the last laugh, as he weathered the hurricane and emerged completely unscathed.
Hundreds of Local Animals Find New Homes
Fortunately not all of the Milton-related news was insane or depressing. On Monday, Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control put the word out that it needed help finding homes for more than 200 cats and dogs ahead of the storm. And the community answered the call. Two days later, homes were found for 230 cats and dogs. The shelter received so many requests that it actually had to turn away many would-be foster pet parents. For those interested in fostering, keep an eye on the Surf the Net About a Pet (SNAP) website.
Note: American Humane will be hosting a pet food and supply drive from Oct. 14 – 16 to support animals affected by Hurricane Milton. American Humane’s donation drop off-site site is located on the first floor at 251 Royal Palm Way, Palm Beach. For more information or to schedule large drop-off donations, contact Georgia Boyer at georgiab@americanhumane.org.
