The best way to survive a storm surge is to heed evacuation orders and leave before the surge arrives! Storm Surge Survival Misconceptions By Jeffrey Masters, Ph.D. — Director of Meteorology, Weather Underground, Inc. The storm surge is usually the most dangerous threat of a hurricane. The ten deadliest U.S. hurricane disasters, including the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 (8000 killed), the Lake Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928 (2500 killed), and Hurricane Katrina of 2005 (1833 killed), were all primarily storm surge disasters. The Biloxi-Gulfport Sun Herald ran a series of stories in 2005 on people who were lucky enough to survive Hurricane Katrinas record storm surge. There were some common misconceptions that were touched on in these stories, and were written up in Margies Kiepers blog on the Hurricane Katrina storm surge. Figure 1. A man wearing a tiny life jacket and clutching a neon green noodle and a pet dog floats on the remains of a house in Waveland, MS, during Hurricane Katrina. The photo was taken from the second floor window of a home, and the water is close to the roof line of the first floor. The home was at an elevation of about 17 feet, and the surge is close to ten feet deep here. There are electric lines running down from a pole to a home from left to right. In the distance on the right is a home with water up to the roof line. The eye is probably overhead, as the water is relatively calm and there appears to be little wind or rain, even though the pine trees are bent from the recent force of the eyewall winds. The photo was taken by Judith Bradford. Her husband, Bill Bradford, swam out and rescued the man and his dog, and two other people who floated by. He reported that the water was nothing like white water, but was a gentle, continuous flow. He was lucky. In the nearby Porteaux Bay area, a woman watched her fiance get pulled from a tree by the force of the current. The man was washed out into the Gulf and drowned. The image above is described in more detail on Margie Kiepers Katrina storm surge web page. Misconception: Call 911 and you can be rescued, while the water is pouring into your home. How? No one will be able to get to you. Water rises quickly--sometimes six to ten feet within minutes; cars cant drive in it, and it is usually unnavigable by boats when it is coming ashore. Misconception: Just stuff towels under the door jambs. Then rush around to start picking up things that are close to floor level, so you can save them. Bad idea. In a minute or so the surge will burst open the door, and instead of standing in a room with four inches of water, youll be knocked off your feet and into whatever piece of furniture is closest. Youll suddenly be in three or four feet of moving water that you cant make any headway into...just before the refrigerator, quickly rushing through the water towards you, knocks you cold. Misconception: Youll be able to maneuver around in the rushing water. Probably not. Some people who drowned were not even able to get out of the room they were in, when the water started pouring into the home. The speed of water in surge can be equivalent to a Class III or IV rapids (Class V is hardly navigable by expert kayakers). Misconception: Youll know in time. The surge is usually not a wall of water as is often assumed, but rather a rapid rise of water of several feet over a period of minutes. It can sneak in unexpectedly, on little cat feet. Misconception: You can outrun the storm surge in your car. Heres an email sent to wunderground from a resident in the Florida Keys during the Keys evacuation order for Hurricane Ike in 2008: I hate to bother you again, but we live on Marathon in the Florida Keys on the Atlantic side, and my husband says that if we see water coming up from storm surge and have an inch of water in our house, that we can outrun the storm surge in our car. Can you please tell me if there is any way this can possibly be true? P.S., I dont know of anyone who lives down here who is planning on evacuating for Ike. Everyone says they are staying. If you wait until the water is an inch high before trying to outrun the surge, the odds are that the surge will rise to over a foot high before you get your car out of the driveway. If the water is a foot high, the typical 10 - 15 mph speed of the storm surges current has enough force to sweep a car away. In many places along the coast, there is only one road out of a low-lying region prone to storm surges, and the surge will cut off ones only escape route. The Keys have only one road, and the storm surge will likely be moving perpendicular to the road, cutting off the only escape route. One of these days, there are going to be a lot of people who fail to evacuate caught and killed in the Keys by the storm surge from a major hurricane. How to Survive a Storm Surge People who survived Katrinas storm surge did one of several things: they floated out an open window, and managed to hang onto debris, a tree, or some other structure above the water, until the surge receded, hours later. Or, they were able to pull themselves into an attic, or make it up to a second floor, where water did not reach, and luckily the home was not swept away. It is common in many flood-prone regions behind levees to keep an axe fastened to the wall of the attic. Then, if water comes in unexpectedly, you can get into the attic and chop a hole through the roof to escape. Dont forget to keep a length of rope there that you can use to tie yourself to a sturdy part of the house (dont tie yourself to the steel beams of the house, as these will sink). The best way to survive a storm surge is to heed evacuation orders and leave before the surge arrives! Weather Underground Storm Surge Articles Storm Surge Basics Storm Surge Inundation Maps for the U.S. Coast General Characteristics of Storm Surges Storm Surge Survival Misconceptions A detailed view of the storm surge: Comparing Katrina to Camille World Storm Surge Records U.S. Storm Surge Records Storm Surge Animations of Historical Storms Hurricane Katrinas Storm Surge Storm Surge Reduction by Wetlands Knowing Your Elevation External Links to Storm Surge Information Storm Surge Safety Actions Minimize the distance you must travel to reach a safe location; the further you drive the higher the likelihood of encountering traffic congestion and other problems on the roadways. Select the nearest possible evacuation destination, preferably within your local area, and map out your route. Do not get on the road without a planned route, or a place to go. Choose the home of the closest friend or relative outside a designated evacuation zone and discuss your plan with them before hurricane season. You may also choose a hotel/motel outside of the vulnerable area. If neither of these options is available, consider the closest possible public shelter, preferably within your local area. Use the evacuation routes designated by authorities and, if possible, become familiar with your route by driving it before an evacuation order is issued. Contact your local emergency management office to register or get information regarding anyone in your household whom may require special assistance in order to evacuate. Prepare a separate pet plan, most public shelters do not accept pets. Prepare your home prior to leaving by boarding up doors and windows, securing or moving indoors all yard objects, and turning off all utilities. Before leaving, fill your car with gas and withdraw extra money from the ATM. Take all prescription medicines and special medical items, such as glasses and diapers. If your family evacuation plan includes an RV, boat or trailer, leave early. Do not wait until the evacuation order or exodus is well underway to start your trip. If you live in an evacuation zone and are ordered to evacuate by state or local officials, do so as quickly as possible. Do not wait or delay your departure, to do so will only increase your chances of being stuck in traffic, or even worse, not being able to get out at all. Expect traffic congestion and delays during evacuations. Expect and plan for significantly longer travel times than normal to reach your familys intended destination. Stay tuned to a local radio or television station and listen carefully for any advisories or specific instructions from local officials. Monitor your NOAA Weather Radio. Source: NOAA Hurricane Preparedness National Hurricane Center Centers for Disease Control & Prevention Learn more about hurricane preparedness Hurricane Resources Storm Surge Storm Surge Basics Storm Surge Inundation Maps for the U.S. Coast General Characteristics of Storm Surges Storm Surge Survival Misconceptions A detailed view of the storm surge: Comparing Katrina to Camille World Storm Surge Records U.S. Storm Surge Records Storm Surge Animations of Historical Storms Hurricane Katrinas Storm Surge Storm Surge Reduction by Wetlands Knowing Your Elevation External Links to Storm Surge Information Tropical Storm Outlooks No Tropical Weather Outlooks available. Monthly Hurricane Summaries Atlantic Eastern Pacific Tropical Weather Discussions: No Tropical Weather Discussions available. Other Tropical Imagery Atlantic Wind Shear Forecast Atlantic Pressure/Windfield Analysis Aircraft Reconnaissance Reports Aircraft Reconnaissance Plan of the Day Detailed Vortex Message Flight Level RECCO reports (decoded) Supplementary Vortex Message Dropsonde Guide to decoding recon reports Blank Tracking Charts Atlantic Basin (1.25 MB Adobe PDF) Eastern Pacific Basin (1.13 MB Adobe PDF)
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 10:52:45 +0000
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