Major damage to lower floors of structures near shore. Category 5 storm, storm surge greater than 18 feet above normal tide: Shrubs and trees blown down; considerable damage to roofs of buildings.

A storm surge is water that is pushed onto shore by a hurricane. It is rarely a "wall of water" as often claimed, but rather a rise of water that can be as rapid as several feet in just a few minutes.

The result can be catastrophic: During 2022’s Hurricane Ian, the agency found that the storm surge along Florida’s southwest coast pushed water levels to 15 feet above ground level in some ...

Ian’s wind speeds were clocked at 140 mph, while its storm surge was as high as 18 feet in some areas. A tropical storm warning was extended to Surf City, North Carolina, while a storm surge ...

The "Weather the Storm" virtual reality experience from Clemson University and the University of Georgia simulates storm ...

It peaked at 3.47 feet “mean higher high ... track set moving north northeast at 18 mph, the agency said. The storm is causing catastrophic storm surge and damaging winds, the hurricane center ...

Kala Hunter The high water tide from the ocean that inundates the land during hurricanes, colloquially known as storm surge, is the leading ... cause anywhere from 10-18 inches of sea level ...

Alarmingly high numbers of homes are unlikely to be insured for Cyclone Alfred’s destruction, due to unaffordable premiums or loopholes that exclude storm and tidal surge from flood cover.