Hurricane David 1979

Hurricane David in 1979 ran parallel to the east coast of Florida, but was only a Category 2 and made landfall near West Palm Beach Florida. Even though that it made landfall the strongest winds were relatively localized with the highest reported wind occurring in Fort Pierce at 70 mph sustained and 95 mph gusts. David brought a storm surge of 2 to 4 feet due to the angle that it was to the coast. He did, however, cause strong surf and heavy rainfall that amounted to 8.92 inches in Vero Beach. With David’s proximity to the coast, therefore he failed to cause major damage in Florida. The storm’s winds did shatter windows and blew over the WJNO radio tower in West Palm Beach. David also tore off some roofs and there were many buildings that were flooded with six inches of water. There were 10 tornadoes caused from David, that were over the state of Florida but they did not cause any deaths or injuries.

The total damages to Florida were $95 million, which is around $332 million dollars today. Of that $95 million, $30 million occurred in Palm Beach County and most of that was from crop damage. David did interrupt the filming of the movie Caddyshack that was being filmed at the Rolling Hills Country Club in Fort Lauderdale.

Hurricane Matthew

Hurricane Matthew is the largest hurricane to threaten the US coast in a decade. Matthew went through the Caribbean as a Category 4 storm. He is responsible for 114 deaths in the Caribbean with 108 of those in Haiti. In Haiti, the government suspend the presidential election. After coming out of the Haiti and Cuba as a Category 3, Matthew has strengthened to a Category 4.

In Florida, 1.2 million people could experience a power outage from Hurricane Matthew. Of people who have evacuated from Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, 1.5 million of them came from Florida alone. Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, and SeaWorld are all closed until the storm passes

Georgia and South Carolina have ordered mandatory evacuations for anyone living on the coast, ahead of Hurricane Matthew who could bring a storm surge of 10 to 12 feet, along with 15 inches of rain and hurricane force winds. Each state has also deployed the National Guard to put up shelters for those with no place to go.

Matthew will bring its hurricane force winds to the coast, but these hurricane force winds extend 60 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds extend out to about 185 miles from the center. Some locations could see up to 15 inches of rain, which is almost double the amount that Hurricane David brought in 1979. The storm could bring a storm surge of 10 to 12 feet. The National Hurricane Center said that life-threatening flooding could happen along approximately 500 miles of the coastline.