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Storm Center
What Could Happen?
• WIND: Airborne missiles such as roof tiles, wood and pieces of buildings cause most hurricane damage. In a 75-mph wind, a 4- by 8-foot sheet of plywood would be thrown by 450 pounds of force.
• RAIN: Hurricane Andrew in 1992 was a relatively dry storm; it dropped only 5 to 7 inches as it raced across Florida at 18 mph. Slower moving storms can take hours to move through, all the time dumping rain. A September 1950 hurricane dumped a remarkable 38.7 inches on the North Florida village of Yankeetown in 24 hours. In 1998, Mitch dumped perhaps as much as 2 feet of rain over parts of Central America, causing devastating floods and mudslides that killed thousands.
• STORM SURGE: Storm surge, an increase in the ocean's level, can come ashore up to five hours before the storm. It can be more than 18 feet high and miles wide. Opal's 15-foot surge stretched 120 miles in 1995. It crushed waterfront homes, cut new channels through islands and moved whole dunes. The surge acts like a giant bulldozer, sweeping everything in its path. Camille's storm surge in 1969 reached 26 feet; one Mississippi coast apartment complex disappeared except for its slab, as did all but one of the two dozen residents who stayed.
• FLOODS: Even if the small canal in your back yard doesn't flood from the hurricane itself, debris could cause water to back up. Culverts and floodgates could also get clogged. If a storm dumped 10 inches of rain, it could take up to two weeks to remove ankle-deep water.
• TORNADOES: Tornadoes are a special danger; many come when you think it's all clear. In 1998, Hurricane Gilbert's eye passed well south of the border in Mexico but spawned 41 tornadoes in Texas. Several hit San Antonio, about 350 miles from landfall, and caused $35 million in damage.
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