FLORIDA- InsuranceJournal.com reports that crops in Florida were devastated by Hurricane Michael. The state’s agricultural industry sustained a massive $158 million in damage. One of the worst impacted crops was cotton, which was almost entirely wiped out by the storm.
The cotton industry alone sustained $51 Million in damage. Other industries that sustained severe damage include greenhouses and floriculture, which experienced a loss of $39 million, the peanut industry which suffered $22 million, and the livestock industry which suffered $23 million in damages.
The state also lost $9 million worth of vegetables and melons, $4 million in other fruits, and $3 million in pecans and other tree nuts.
The timber industry also lost around $1.3 billion worth of timber that would have been available for harvesting over the next few years.
Hurricane Michael pummeled Florida earlier this month with massive 155 miles per hour winds. The storm struck Mexico Beach, Florida as the first ever Category 4 storm to strike the panhandle. As the hurricane made its way to Georgia, it was reduced to a Category 3 storm and was the first storm of that level to strike Georgia since 1898. Hurricane Michael was the strongest storm to hit any land in the continental United States since 1992 when Hurricane Andrew hit.
The storm killed at least 35 people in Florida alone, and another ten people across other states. The worst hit part of Florida was Bay County, where 21 people were killed. Jackson County had three fatalities, as did Washington County and Gulf County. Two people died in Gadsen County, and one person died in Clay, one in Liberty and one in Calhoun.
