Hurricane Milton: At least 16 fatalities confirmed after monster storm slams into Florida

Hurricane Milton, the ninth hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, intensified rapidly into a Category 5 storm, one of the strongest on record in the Gulf of Mexico. It made landfall on Florida’s west coast as a Category 3 hurricane, causing widespread devastation, including flooding, severe wind damage, and mass power outages. The storm has resulted in at least 16 fatalities and displaced millions, marking it as one of the most destructive hurricanes in Florida's history. Efforts to assess damage and restore power are still ongoing.

Hurricanes are caused by a combination of factors, including:

1.    Warm Ocean Water: Sea surface temperatures of at least 26.5°C (80°F) fuel the storm.

2.    Moist Air: High humidity levels provide moisture for storm clouds.

3.    Low Wind Shear: Minimal variation in wind speed or direction allows storms to strengthen.

4.    Coriolis Effect: The Earth's rotation helps initiate the cyclonic motion.

5.    Converging Winds: Winds coming together create areas of low pressure, enabling storm formation.

Cyclones vs hurricanes?

Cyclones and hurricanes are the same type of storm, but the names differ by region:

• Hurricanes: Form in the Atlantic and Northeast Pacific.

• Cyclones: Form in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean.

• Typhoons: Form in the Northwest Pacific.

All are tropical cyclones, featuring strong winds, heavy rain, and storm surges, but they're named based on the ocean basin where they develop. Despite regional naming differences, their structure and impacts are very similar.

How cyclones are named in Indian ocean?

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) established a system for naming tropical cyclones in the North Indian Ocean region in 2000. This system was initially implemented by eight countries: Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. In 2018, the system was expanded to include five more countries: Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.  

To create the list of cyclone names, each participating country submitted suggestions. The WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones (PTC) then finalized the list. In April 2020, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) released a list of 169 cyclone names, with 13 suggestions from each of the 13 countries.

Naming tropical cyclones offers several benefits. It makes it easier for people to remember and identify individual storms, raising awareness of their development and facilitating the dissemination of warnings to increase community preparedness. By assigning names, confusion can be avoided when multiple cyclonic systems are present in a region.

To ensure that the chosen names are appropriate, countries must adhere to certain guidelines. Proposed names should be neutral to politics, religion, culture, and gender. They should not offend any group of people worldwide and should be respectful in nature. Additionally, names should be short, easy to pronounce, and not offensive to any member. The maximum length of a name is eight letters, and proposed names must be accompanied by their pronunciation and a voiceover. Once a name is used for a tropical cyclone in the North Indian Ocean, it will not be used again.