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By Maya Mehrara
News Reporter
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Nearly one in five Americans have had to evacuate their homes due to extreme weather conditions, according to a new poll conducted by YouGov on October 8.
Of the survey's respondents, 18 per cent said that they have had to flee their homes due to tornados, hurricanes, wildfires, floods, or other disasters, while 79 per cent of respondents said that they have not had to do so.
The poll comes as Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall in Florida today and more than 5.5 million residents are evacuating the 51 counties under state of emergency orders.
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The poll also asked respondents for their thoughts on presidential candidates' ability to handle natural disasters, and found that 42 percent thought Donald Trump would do a better job, while only 40 percent thought the same of Kamala Harris.
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A category five storm, Hurricane Milton is expected to hit Sarasota sometime today, and as of early this morning it has sustained wind speeds of 160 mph as it moves northeastward at 12 mph.
Said to be a "dangerous major hurricane" that could be "catastrophic," Hurricane Milton will hit Florida just weeks after Hurricane Helene, which primarily affected Southeastern states and resulted in approximately 230 fatalities.
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Prior to Hurricane Milton making landfall, President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been making provisions for aid in Florida.
Biden approved Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' request for an emergency declaration, which is inclusive of FEMA support for life-saving activities.
The Biden administration has also been preparing for the hurricane by clearing debris from Hurricane Helene and putting in place personnel and resources in the state.
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According to Statista, in 2023 there were a total of 89 severe natural disasters in the US, with 53 of them being severe convective storms, 16 floods or flash floods, 11 winter storms and cold waves, five wildfires, heatwaves, or droughts, and four tropical cyclones.
Natural disasters caused 3.4 million people to become displaced in 2022, according to US Census Bureau statistics as part of their Household Pulse survey.
The NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information's (NCEI) 2023 Billion-Dollar Disaster Report found that the weather and climate disasters they tallied, 28, cost at least $92.9 billion.
The National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration predicted that 2024's Atlantic hurricane season would be highly active, as forecasters from the NOAA's Climate Prediction Center predicted that there would be 17 to 24 named storms this season.
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