page_title: Hurricane Elena
section_title: Impact
hierarchical_section_title: Hurricane Elena / Impact
caption_attribution_description: English: Category 2 Hurricane Elena drifting erratically in the Gulf of Mexico on August 31, 1985
context_page_description: Hurricane Elena was an unpredictable and damaging tropical cyclone that affected eastern and central portions of the United States Gulf Coast in late August and early September 1985. Threatening popular tourist destinations during Labor Day weekend, Elena repeatedly deviated from its forecast path, triggering evacuations of unprecedented extent. The hurricane wrought havoc to property and the environment between southwestern Florida and eastern Louisiana, though lesser effects were felt well beyond those areas. Elena developed on August 28 near Cuba, and after traveling lengthwise across the island with little impact, it entered the Gulf of Mexico and continued to strengthen. Initially projected to strike the central Gulf Coast, the hurricane unexpectedly veered toward the east on August 30, then stalled just 50 mi west of Cedar Key, Florida. Despite predictions that Elena would continue eastward across Florida, the cyclone remained nearly stationary for about 48 hours, causing damage all along the eastern gulf with high winds and waves, before slowly moving northwest and ultimately making landfall near Biloxi, Mississippi, on September 2 as a Category 3 major hurricane.
context_section_description: According to the Hurricane Research Division of the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Hurricane Elena produced Category 3 winds (111 mph (179 km/h) or greater) in Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. The American Red Cross reported that in addition to the hundreds of single-family homes demolished by the hurricane, over 17,000 sustained some degree of damage; thousands of mobile homes, apartments, and condominiums were also damaged or destroyed. A forecaster at the National Hurricane Center determined the worst of the hurricane's effects were focused around Dauphin Island, Alabama, and Pascagoula, Mississippi, though noteworthy damage occurred across large areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, with effects documented as far west as South Padre Island, Texas, and as far north as Kentucky. Nine deaths were attributed to the hurricane in four states and on the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and 134 people along Elena's path were hospitalized, many of them due to storm-related stress. Power outages plagued the entire region, affecting about 550,000 customers. The National Climatic Data Center compiled a total monetary damage figure of $1.3 billion.
  In addition to its effects over land, Elena also affected offshore interests. When a cargo ship close to the hurricane's center rolled in high seas on August 29, two unsecured storage containers collided, crushing a man to death. An oil platform operated by Exxon and anchored off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, was ripped from its moorings and reported missing on September 2. The oil rig drifted 14 mi (23 km) away before it was spotted by a Coast Guard aircraft. Exxon previously evacuated the platform after rough seas snapped the first two of its eight anchoring cables. Damage was reported on four other offshore platforms, and a 6 in (150 mm) oil pipeline broke during the hurricane at an estimated cost of $1.6 million (the same pipeline broke two more times during the 1985 hurricane season).
  A large aspect of the hurricane's devastation was the havoc it wrought on the eastern Gulf of Mexico oyster industry, particularly in the Apalachicola Bay area and off the coast of Alabama. Elena subjected the Apalachicola Bay reefs to high winds, strong tidal action, and moderate to heavy rainfall, churning up huge quantities of silt and mud which suffocated up to 90% of live oysters and virtually destroyed the most important harvesting sites. Commercial harvesting was suspended until May 1986, at which time some of the prominent reefs of the eastern Apalachicola Bay system were deemed able to sustain oyster-catching. Low astronomical tides amplified the effects of severe turbulence in the water. Thousands of individuals relying on the Apalachicola Bay oyster industry soon found themselves struggling to make a living; losses in production at two major reefs were expected to surpass $30 million. All of Alabama's major reefs were affected by the hurricane, and its most productive was nearly destroyed. The problem was later confounded in November by Hurricane Kate, which, according to the National Hurricane Center, "[dealt] the final blow" to certain oyster beds.
caption: Hurricane Elena near the Florida coast on August 31
exif: {}