Brevard designated by FEMA for assistance.
Brevard County residents may now apply for federal disaster assistance for losses resulting from Hurricane Milton. To be eligible for federal aid from FEMA, storm damage and losses from the hurricane and flooding must have occurred as a result of Hurricane Milton. If you have insurance, you must file a claim with your insurance company first. If you do not have insurance, or insurance does not cover your claim, begin applying for FEMA assistance. Apply online at DisasterAssistance.gov. on the FEMA mobile app, or by calling 800-621-FEMA.
Cocoa Beach Pier damaged by Milton.
Add the Cocoa Beach Pier to the structures in Brevard damaged by Hurricane Milton. A large portion of the pier’s roof was blown onto the beach. Crews are at work stabilizing the building on the pier. Cocoa Beach Pier was built in 1962, and is owned by Westgate Resorts.
Ms. Apple’s Crab Shack on Merritt Island was destroyed by Milton. Closed since last summer, the long-time eatery and seafood market was awaiting a remodel.
Power still out for thousands.
Less than 2,000 Brevard customers of FPL were still without power this morning. The company said most everyone should have electricity back by mid this week.
Insurance claims start rolling in.
The rash of hurricanes is doing Florida’s insurance market no favors. With Milton, we avoided the worst-case scenario — a direct hit on Tampa Bay. But in just the first two days after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida, nearly 50,000 insurance claims were filed. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation reports those claims are on top of the over 100,000 claims filed for Hurricane Helene. The financial-rating agency AM Best said that the hurricanes pose a “significant threat” to the state’s property insurance market. Credit rating agency Moody’s warned that Florida homeowners rates are likely to increase as insurers try to match price to rising risk. Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, Jimmy Patronis, estimated potential insurance losses from Milton could reach $20 billion. But he had confidence in insurers’ ability to deal with the storm.
SpaceX scores again. And again.
On Sunday SpaceX launched the world's largest and most powerful rocket, Starship, from Texas. It was the fifth test flight for Starship. The Super Heavy booster returned to the launch pad, and was amazingly caught by “chopsticks” on the launch tower. And Starship itself splashed down on target in the Indian Ocean.
Then on Monday afternoon, NASA sent a spacecraft on a science mission to a moon of Jupiter. A SpaceX Falcon Heavy lifted off from Kennedy Space Center. Jupiter’s moon, Europa, is considered one of the solar system’s most promising habitable environments. The Europa Clipper spacecraft will reach Jupiter in 2030, and conduct a detailed survey to see if the icy world could have conditions suitable for life.
Early Tuesday morning, SpaceX will return Falcon9 to flight after an FAA timeout. It’s an internal Starlink mission. The launch window extends from 1:26 AM to 5:56 AM Tuesday.
Wind and rainfall stats compiled.
The National Weather Service in Melbourne has compiled statistics from Hurricane Milton. The strongest wind recorded in Brevard County was at Kennedy Space Center - 92 mph at 6AM Thursday. In Melbourne the winds maxed out at 68 mph. Titusville recorded the most rainfall in Brevard at nearly 7.5 inches. In Melbourne almost 4.5 inches of rain fell.
