Misinformation swirls as Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida

AAP FACTCHECK – As Hurricane Milton barrels across Florida’s Gulf Coast, a torrent of claims about controlled weather and corrupt emergency officials have surged on social media.

Millions of people were ordered to evacuate their homes across the US state’s coastline, with officials warning of “life-threatening” conditions. 

A number of Facebook posts claim the University of Alaska’s High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP), an atmospheric research facility, created the storm. 

AAP FactCheck has debunked numerous claims about the HAARP facility in Alaska, which was previously operated by the US military.

“MILTON IS A MODIFIED AND MANIPULATED HAARP HURRICANE,” one Facebook post is captioned. 

Another post reads: “Haarp in action .!! Florida Tornado milton wake up.”

In a statement to Reuters, a HAARP spokesperson said the facility was not able to “create, modify or manipulate a hurricane”.

Experts have previously told AAP FactCheck that claims attempting to link HAARP to natural disasters are “nonsense” as the facility does not have the power to generate weather. 

Specifically, they explained HAARP features a high-frequency transmitter which is used to interact with ionised particles – electrons – in the ionosphere, above 100 km altitude. 

Meanwhile weather at ground level is driven by geophysical effects, mostly solar heating, into the neutral atmosphere much nearer the ground.

A video shared widely on Facebook also claims the HAARP facility is “positioned perfectly” in Hurricane Milton’s path.

The video zooms into an underwater Google Street View in the Florida Keys, with the caption suggesting it shows the location of the research facility. 

“This video is very eye-opening and had [sic] it for a while, but it just seem [sic] to hit me more after I have been watching hurricane Milton’s path!” the post’s caption reads.

However, the location shown has no relation to the Alaska-based HAARP; rather, it depicts Snapper Ledge, a coral reef that is part of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. 

The aerial-like structures at Snapper Ledge, which many have highlighted as being suspicious, are in fact coral or reef nurseries.

Many posts also claim Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) forecasting towers are responsible for the hurricane. 

Operated by the National Weather Service, the towers monitor weather across the US. 

“Breaking! Hurricane Milton being controlled by directed energy weapons (NEXRAD & HAARP),” one post reads.

However, Howard Diamond, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, confirmed to fact-checking organisation Science Feedback that neither HAARP nor NEXRAD are capable of modifying weather.

Other Facebook posts claim the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been intentionally causing traffic jams and closing roads to trap residents. 

“FEMA is closing down roads preventing people from evacuating. They are telling people to turn around and to go home,” one post is captioned.

“I heard the traffic jams are caused by FEMA,” reads another post featuring a photo purportedly depicting a Florida highway clogged with traffic. 

The traffic jams, however, were caused by mass evacuation orders issued by state authorities, not road closures ordered by FEMA, according to PolitiFact.

There was a surge in traffic as people heeded evacuation orders and drove north, the Tampa Bay Times and Grice Connect reported.

“FEMA is not blockading people in Florida and preventing evacuations,” the federal emergency agency said in a statement in response to hurricane-related misinformation on its website.

All information, text and images included on the AAP Websites is for personal use only and may not be re-written, copied, re-sold or re-distributed, framed, linked, shared onto social media or otherwise used whether for compensation of any kind or not, unless you have the prior written permission of AAP. For more information, please refer to our standard terms and conditions.