Karen Clark & Company estimates that the privately insured loss from Hurricane Milton will be close to $36 billion in the US from wind, storm surge and inland flooding.

The loss estimate is based on the high-resolution KCC US Hurricane Reference Model and includes the privately insured damage to residential, commercial and industrial properties and automobiles, as well as business interruption.

It does not include boats, offshore properties, or National Flood Insurance Programme losses.

KCC said that a higher proportion of the damage from Hurricane Milton will be insured in contrast to Helene, because most of the damage from Milton was caused by wind.

KCC said: “As Milton interacted with a surface frontal boundary and strong vertical wind shear from the west, strong surface winds were pushed to the north side of the track.

“While typically the highest wind speeds are observed to the right side of a hurricane relative to its movement, Hurricane Milton generated surface winds just as strong on the left side of the track.

“In some areas—particularly in eastern Florida where Milton exited the state—observed winds were higher on the left side of the track than on the right side.”

The strongest winds from Hurricane Milton, a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120mph, affected the landfall area including Sarasota, Bradenton and St Petersburg.

KCC said Hurricane-force winds also extended northward into Tampa and Orlando, and even Daytona Beach. It was the second major hurricane to make landfall in Florida in just two weeks and the third Florida landfall of the season.

Milton is now tied with Wilma (2005) and Felix (2007) for the fastest-forming Category 5 hurricane on record after rapidly intensifying by 90mph in just 24 hours, while in the Gulf of Mexico.

On October 7, Milton became a Category 5 hurricane, as maximum sustained winds peaked at 180mph around 4 PM the same day.

“Both to the north and south of the track, Hurricane Milton brought tropical storm winds to an extensive region including the entire Florida Peninsula and extending north along the coastline into Georgia.

Storm surge heights in Tampa Bay reached about one foot. Higher storm surge impacted areas further south along the coastline, especially in both Fort Myers and Naples, where storm surge heights of six feet were observed.