Hurricane Celia, Auqust 3, 1970: Hurricane Celia was one of the most destructive storms to ever hit Texas, with damages estimated at $1.6 billion (in 1990 dollars).
Celia became a hurricane on August 1 in the Gulf of Mexico and intensified rapidly in 15 hours before it crossed the coast north of Corpus Christi, TX. As it moved over land, spectacular damage occurred from a "cluster of high energy winds of short duration," (also called downbursts or microbursts). The extreme winds raked across the residential and business areas in less than half an hour. It was estimated that winds reached as high as 160 mph for several seconds. During those disastrous seconds, incredible damage occurred at the airport and an adjacent mobile home park which was completely demolished. Fortunately, only 11 died in the Corpus Christi area due to the state of preparedness by its disaster prevention agencies. Hurricane Eloise, September 23, 1975: Eloise became a threat when it regained hurricane strength in the central Gulf of Mexico about 350 miles south of New Orleans, LA. It continued.to strengthen until it made landfall about midway between Fort Walton Beach and Panama City, FL early on September 23. Winds were estimated at about 100 mph with storm tides of 12-16 feet above normal just east of Fort Walton Beach to Panama City. About $1 billion damage (in 1990 dollars) occurred along the 25 mile wide Panama City beach strip, mostly the result of the high tides undermining beachfront structures. |
Current Threats
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