<a href="http://www.time.news/desantis-declares-state-of-emergency-in-35-counties-ahead-of-expected-hurricane-milton/" title="DeSantis declares state of emergency in 35 counties ahead of expected Hurricane Milton”>Hurricane Milton leaves a path of destruction in Florida. Former RTL presenter Peter Kloeppel is also affected by the natural disaster. That’s how he feels.
Two weeks after the deadly storm “Helene”, Hurricane “Milton” swept across the US state of Florida, causing severe flooding and destruction. At least four people died in tornadoes triggered by the hurricane, authorities said. More than three million households were without power on Thursday.
“Milton” reached Florida’s Gulf Coast on Thursday night as a Category 3 hurricane. As it passed over the state, the cyclone weakened to hurricane force 1 by mid-morning (local time), according to the US Hurricane Center NHC, but still reached wind speeds of up to 140 kilometers per hour as it moved past Florida and into the Atlantic.
Video | Videos show the extent of the flooding
Peter Kloeppel is among the numerous victims of the hurricane. The journalist, who only resigned as long-time presenter of “RTL Aktuell” this summer, has been living in Sarasota, on the west coast of Florida, ever since. Unlike many other people, he did not leave his house and experienced the hurricane first hand.
“We have never been hit as badly as this hurricane,” he said afterwards on the ntv station. What was terrible and fascinating at the same time was that they were “right under the eye of the hurricane.” It was always quiet there and there was no wind at all for an hour before the storm started again.
“Thank God we live in a pretty solidly built house,” he explains. They have not lost any belongings, but they are currently without power. But they had prepared in advance and gotten batteries.