Rapid Response: Historic storm surge strikes Florida’s west coast

For at least a week prior to Hurricane Helene’s landfall, weather experts were sounding the alarm that a large tropical storm was developing in the southwestern Caribbean and would likely head toward Florida. And then it happened – fast. Hurricane Helene reached Category 4 storm status yesterday, skirting most of Florida’s west coast until making landfall in a sparsely populated area known as the “Big Bend,” just east of the Aucilla River inlet to the Gulf of Mexico, near Tallahassee.

Pushing 140 mph winds, Hurricane Helene destroyed just about anything its path. Reports are still coming in from the hardest-hit areas, but one outlet is reporting 13 have died in the storm, and 4 million are without power.

There are too many harrowing stories to cover them all, so I’ll isolate a few and share the startling statistics associated with this the historic storm.

While rainfall was as little as 1.5 inches at my house in Manatee County, portions of northern Florida and Georgia received 8 inches or more – a lot, but generally manageable during a normal storm. Most of the flooding from Hurricane Helene was the result of unprecedented storm surge.

Mandatory evacuations and stark warnings

Most of the west coast counties issued mandatory evacuations for Zone A, which are the barrier islands and storm surge-prone areas along with mobile home residents. Recommended evacuations for Zone B, other lowland areas, were also issued. All jurisdictions opened shelters, and sufficient time was given for people to prepare and evacuate.

As is usual, not everyone heeded the evacuation orders, and those individuals received some stark messaging from local authorities. The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office issued a press release with this strong message: “If you or someone you know chose not to evacuate, PLEASE write your name, birthday and important information on your arm or leg in A PERMANENT MARKER so that you can be identified and family notified.

Response and rescues

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued a disaster declaration in advance, which allowed the state and National Guard to work together and allowed FEMA to begin the process of pre-positioning assets to assist local officials. The theater of operations for this event involves the entire Southeast United States, with at least 12 USAR assets deployed:

Specifically deployed to Florida at present:

• Type 1 swiftwater teams with 85 members each: IN-1, OH-1, TN-1, TX-1, VA-1, VA-2
• Type 3 swiftwater teams with 45 members each: CO-1, NE-1
• California Incident Support Team

Multiple USAR assets have been placed on standby for deployment, likely to move in as the storm continues tracking up into the Tennessee Valley area. Unfortunately, it looks like the storm will slow down and loop while in the Tennessee Valley, bringing additional rain.

Additionally, the following USAR teams are deployed in other areas: MA-TF1, MD-TF1, NY-TF1, PA-TF1.

Hurricane Helene marked a “perfect storm” of wind speed, storm size, proximity to the coastline and tidal affects that resulted in record storm surge up and down the Gulf Coast. First responders from all jurisdictions have been engaged in dramatic search and rescue efforts, while constantly imploring the public to either evacuate or shelter in place.

Dams fail

In an unprecedented cascade of weather events, at least two water supply dams have failed and at least one hospital has been inundated by flood waters. At Lake Lure North Carolina, residents downstream received an “evacuate immediately” order Friday afternoon. NWS’s office in Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina, made this announcement on Friday at around 11 a.m. EST: “URGENT: FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY FOR THE LAKE LURE DAM! DAM FAILURE IMMINENT! RESIDENTS BELOW THE DAM NEED TO EVACUATE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY!”

In Newport, Tennessee, the Waterville dam failed, with Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis writing on his Facebook page just before 3 p.m. EST Friday that the Waterville Dam “HAS SUFFERED A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE” and ordered the “EVACUATION ALL OF DOWNTOWN NEWPORT IMMEDIATELY.”

In Erwin, Tennessee, officials began evacuation of the Unicoi Hospital around 10 a.m. Friday when the Nolichucky River began rising. Ambulances were sent to assist in the evacuation but became trapped in the rising water. Boats were unable to assist due to the rapid currents, and
helicopters could not be used for a time due to high winds.

As of 1 p.m. Friday, 54 people were stranded on the roof of the hospital, with an additional seven rescuers trapped in boats that were unable to maneuver. A Virginia-based helicopter was eventually able to land on the roof of the hospital to begin rescues, while at least four additional helicopters, including two National Guard helicopters, were circling to attempt rescues.

Historic storm stats

The following are just a few of the statistics provided by first responders in various press conferences and releases:

Hillsborough County, Tampa:

• Fire Chief Jason Dougherty reported in a live broadcast in an 8-hour period, Thursday evening into Friday morning, “103 tactical search and rescues, 2 car fires, 2 electrocutions, 5 sinking vehicle, 6 working structure fires, 500 victim rescues – all performed successfully without loss of life.”
• Old Port Tampa Storm surge a record 6.83 feet.
• The Alafia River, a known flood-prone area, experienced new record flooding.
• Two fatalities – one a driver deceased after a highway sign fell and struck them while they were driving, the other an elderly woman found deceased in her home.

Crystal River, Citrus County:

• Storm surge near 10 feet deep – “something we have never seen,” according to the sheriff.”
• Fire/EMS and Sheriff’s resources rescued 400 to 500 stranded residents

Hernando County

• 18 high-water rescues, no serious injuries or deaths reported.
• Over 500 911 calls.

Pinellas County:

• Access by bridge was cut off for 12 hours or more – the entrance paths to the Howard Franklin Bridge have buckled and will require extensive repair.
• Over 200,000 residents and businesses without power.
• 102 water/sewer pump stations not operating due to power and flooding issues.
• Record storm surge over 8 feet.
• 5,000 911 calls for service overnight Thursday.

Electric vehicles on fire

As we now expect, electric vehicles became a problem for a few. What we know from experience, is that saltwater inundation is a critical factor to avoid with EVs. As the saltwater dries, salt bridges can easily form on the battery, creating a bridge to support thermal runaway that we have come to understand.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor made this statement about EV incidents that had been reported: “We asked folks to make sure those got up [moved to higher ground]; there’s a couple that didn’t get up and now they’re burned up. With the lithium batteries, a little late for that warning, but we may see more flooding.”

It’s not over

Additional reports will come in time. This area has a history of strong hurricane hits, likely one of the reasons the population is sparse.

Firefighters, EMS personnel and other first responders across the Southeast will continue to make rescues and answer myriad calls for service and support, all while keeping a watchful eye on the tropics, as the next storm is already forecast to begin impacting some of the same areas in about eight days.