Threat – Storm tide values of 9 to 12 feet. Major to extreme flooding in coastal communities.
Impact - Life-Threatening Inundation Likely.
All neighborhoods, and possibly entire coastal communities, will be inundated. People not heeding evacuation orders in single family one or two story homes will face certain death. Many residences of average construction directly on the coast will be destroyed; widespread, devastating personal property damage is likely elsewhere.
Vehicles left behind will likely be swept away. Numerous roads will be swamped; some may be washed away by the water. Entire flood-prone coastal communities will be cutoff, perhaps for more than a week; water levels may exceed 9 feet more than three miles inland. Coastal residents in multi-story facilities risk being cutoff for a week or more.
Conditions will be worsened by battering waves. Such waves will exacerbate property damage, with likely massive destruction of homes, including those of block construction.
Damage from beach erosion could take years to repair. Examples of high storm surge have not occurred in our region in modern times. Several strong category two hurricanes in the 19th century produced devastating storm surges in Apalachee Bay. Most notably, the 1843 hurricane that made landfall near Carrabelle, Florida, produced a 10 foot storm surge that destroyed the community of Port Leon, near the mouth of the Saint Marks River. |
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