In many cases, maximum storm surge heights measured relative to mean sea level have been recorded at the head of bays or even inland away from the shoreline. Generally, storm surge gradually rises to a peak and returns to normal, all in 6 to 12 hours. However, in intense or rapidly-moving hurricanes, rapid rises and falls on the order of minutes to an hour have been reported. Riding on top of the storm surge are waves which cause major damage when they break against structures. Poor communication for many years left coastal communities virtually without warning of storm surge.
Inland communities are also susceptible to tropical cyclone catastrophes.
There, fresh-water flooding from excessive rainfall can lead to large numbers of deaths by drowning. The number of inland deaths, indeed those near the coast and offshore as well, were only estimated by many of the references. Numerous entries in Appendix 1 appear rounded to the nearest ten, hundred, or even thousand. In addition, the data from many references suggest that the listed total is likely a lower threshold. Hence, in some cases the actual number of deaths could be many multiples of the total shown in Appendix 1 .