ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Florida agriculture suffered more than $190 million in losses from Hurricane Milton, making it the costliest for farmers and ranchers of three cyclones that pummeled the state in 2024, according to University of Florida researchers.
When all the data is in, the university's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) estimates the losses from Milton could reach over $642 million. That compares with farm-related damages of $170 million from Hurricane Debby in August and up to $162 million caused by Hurricane Helene in September.
Milton came ashore Oct. 9 near Siesta Key on the Gulf coast as a Category 3 storm, sweeping across the central part of the state with hurricane-force winds striking 14 counties. The storm impacted more than 5.7 million acres (2.3 million hectares) of agricultural land, much of it used for cattle and other livestock grazing.
Total production value on that land annually is pegged at about $8.6 billion, according to the report.
“Milton resulted in higher agricultural losses than Hurricane Helene, not only because it caused more intense weather conditions overall, but also because areas producing high-value commodities experienced higher-intensity weather conditions,” said Xiaohui Qiao, an IFAS research assistant professor.
Helene, which came ashore Sept. 27 along the Big Bend region of Florida, impacted about 6 million acres (2.4 million hectares) of agricultural lands, the report said.
The Milton report is broken down into low and high estimates of loss. For example, researchers say losses to vegetable crops range between $52.5 million and $233 million. Greenhouse and nursery costs are estimated at between $66.9 million and $177 million.
The dominant livestock operations in the region had estimated losses of between $29.4 million and $86.5 million, the researchers said. That includes sickened and dead animals but also such things as damaged fencing and structures and loss of feed.
There also were delays in planting crops crucial to Florida's winter growing season.
“Some growers have delayed winter crop planting due to Helene and Milton, disrupting the production schedule and potentially affecting the value of future harvests,” the report says.
The loss estimates are based on a survey of agriculture producers around the state. A final report on Milton's impact is expected in the first quarter of 2025 and will include additional survey results.
FILE - Foundations and debris remain after buildings were swept from their foundations and destroyed during Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, in Englewood, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
FILE - Waves lap on the beach in front of empty house foundations surrounded by debris, following the passage of Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, in Englewood, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
FILE - Debris lies scattered on Manasota Key, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
BERLIN (AP) — The deputy mayor of the Germany city of Magdeburg said Friday that at least one person was killed and dozens were injured after a car plowed into a busy Christmas market in what authorities suspect was an attack.
Regina-Dolores Stieler-Hinz said that more than 50 people were injured, German news agency dpa reported.
Authorities say the driver of the car was arrested.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
BERLIN (AP) — A car plowed into a busy outdoor Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg on Friday, injuring an unknown number of people in what authorities say was a suspected attack.
The driver of the car was arrested, German news agency dpa reported, citing unidentified government officials in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. Regional government spokesperson Matthias Schuppe and city spokesperson Michael Reif said they suspected it was a deliberate act.
Reif said there were “numerous injured,” but he didn’t give a precise figure.
“The pictures are terrible,” he said. “My information is that a car drove into the Christmas market visitors, but I can’t yet say from what direction and how far.”
Magdeburg’s University Hospital said it was taking care of 10 to 20 patients but was preparing for more, dpa reported.
The sounds of sirens from first responders clashed with the market’s holiday decorations, including ornaments, stars and leafy garland festooning the vendors’ booths.
Debris could be seen on the ground in footage of a cordoned-off part of the market.
“This is a terrible event, particularly now in the days before Christmas," Saxony-Anhalt governor Reiner Haseloff said. Haseloff told dpa that he was on his way to Magdeburg but couldn’t immediately give any information on victims or what was behind the incident.
Chancellor OIaf Scholz posted on X: “My thoughts are with the victims and their relatives. We stand beside them and beside the people of Magdeburg.”
Magdeburg, which is west of Berlin, is the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt and has about 240,000 residents.
The suspected attack came eight years after an attack on a Christmas market in Berlin. On Dec. 19, 2016, an Islamic extremist plowed through a crowded Christmas with a truck, killing 13 people and injuring dozens more. The attacker was killed days later in a shootout in Italy.
Christmas markets are a huge part of German culture as an annual holiday tradition cherished since the Middle Ages and successfully exported to much of the Western world. In Berlin alone, more than 100 markets opened late last month and brought the smells of mulled wine, roasted almonds and bratwurst to the capital. Other markets abound across the country.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said late last month that there were no concrete indications of a danger to Christmas markets this year, but that it was wise to be vigilant.
Emergency services attend an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Heiko Rebsch/dpa via AP)
In this screen grab image from video, emergency services attend an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Thomas Schulz/dpa via AP)
Emergency services attend an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Heiko Rebsch/dpa via AP)
Emergency services attend an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Heiko Rebsch/dpa via AP)
Emergency services attend an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Heiko Rebsch/dpa via AP)
Emergency services attend an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Dörthe Hein/dpa via AP)
Emergency services attend an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Dörthe Hein/dpa via AP)
Emergency services attend an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Dörthe Hein/dpa via AP)
