JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida living includes beautiful views and beaches, but meteorologists who track the storms that come our way worry that this paradise can be deceiving.
The Weather Authority talked one-on-one with National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan, about his concerns with local complacency during the 2023 hurricane season.
With more people moving to Florida and the increase in Category 4 or 5 hurricanes in the last couple of years, it’s important that you are prepared for when paradise becomes a disaster zone.
Despite living by two massive bodies of water, the Atlantic Ocean and the St. Johns River, people in our area can sometimes forget the impact of water during a storm.
“Complacency, people tend to forget the risk that they may have -- or they may not even know the risk. Think about Florida. How many people have moved to Florida in the last few years and may not know what risk they could experience from a hurricane?” Brennan said.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Florida was one of the fastest-growing states in 2022.
Brennan said it’s important for newcomers to know what hurricane season means to Florida.
“If they moved to a storm surge zone, or just what the risk could be from wind or heavy rainfall,” Brennan said.
And Brennan believes there is a misconception about storm surge.
MAP: National Hurricane Center Storm Surge Risk Maps
The link above includes a current look at our storm surge map for southeast Georgia and northeast Florida from Category 1 which is less than 3 feet to Category 5, which could have a surge greater than 9 feet above ground.
“People may think that storm surge only happens on the immediate beachfront that faces the Atlantic Ocean,” Brennan said. “They don’t think about places like the St. Johns River, the Matanzas River, the inland back bay type flooding that can be life-threatening in those areas as well.”
To make sure you’re not complacent, prepare in advance by knowing how you could be impacted by storm surge and prepare an evacuation plan and kit so you can leave quickly if a storm or hurricane is headed your way.
You can check the evacuation zones for your area here: https://www.jaxready.com/Preparedness/Evacuation-Information/Evacuation-Zones.aspx.