Do not use fresh food that has come in contact with floodwaters. Wash canned goods that come in contact with floodwaters with soap and hot water. Stay away from downed power lines. In the last 30 years, inland flooding has been responsible for more than half the deaths associated with tropical cyclones in the United States. When it comes to hurricanes, wind speeds do not tell the whole story.
Hurricanes produce storm surges, tornadoes, and often the most deadly of all - inland flooding.
While storm surge is always a potential threat, more people have died from inland flooding in the last 30 years. Intense rainfall is not directly related to the wind speed of tropical cyclones. In fact, some of the greatest rainfall amounts occur from weaker storms that drift slowly or stall over an area. Inland flooding can be a major threat to communities hundreds of miles from the coast as intense rain falls from these huge tropical air masses. More than 21 inches of rain fell at Americus, Georgia.