page_title: Hurricane Georges
section_title: Alabama
hierarchical_section_title: Hurricane Georges / Impact on the United States / Alabama
caption_attribution_description: English: undetermined, AL, October 8, 1998 -- The rubble of a home can be seen through the snapped pilings of another home damaged by Hurrican Georges. FEMA photo by John Pilger, EIPA
context_page_description: Hurricane Georges was a powerful and long-lived Cape Verde Category 4 hurricane which caused severe destruction as it traversed the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico in September 1998, making seven landfalls along its path. Georges was the seventh tropical storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season. It became the most destructive storm of the season, the costliest Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and the deadliest since Hurricane Gordon in 1994. Georges killed 604 people, mainly on the island of Hispaniola, and caused extensive damage resulting at just under $14 billion in damages mostly in St. Kitts and Nevis, Puerto Rico and Hispaniola.
  The hurricane made landfall in at least six countries, more than any other hurricane since Hurricane Inez of the 1966 season.
context_section_description: Upon making landfall, storm surge heights along the coast of Alabama were estimated to have ranged from 7 to 12 ft (2.1 to 3.7 m), with a peak of 11.9 ft (3.6 m) in Fort Morgan, along with 25 ft (7.6 m) waves on top of it. Along the coastline, heavy rainfall and strong waves caused extensive property damage. In Gulf Shores, 251 houses, 16 apartment buildings, and 70 businesses experienced significant damage. On Dauphin Island, the hurricane damaged 80 houses and left around 40 uninhabitable. Many waterfront homes on the western side of the island were pushed into other homes or strewn into pieces across the sand. Some roads were completely washed away. In Orange Beach, two condominiums were heavily damaged, one by fire and the other by high waves. Extensive storm surge flooding also occurred along Mobile Bay. With storm surge of 8.0 ft (2.4 m) at Mobile Bay Causeway, a number of businesses near the bridge were damaged.
  Sustained winds in Alabama reached 54 mph (87 km/h) at Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley, while gusts peaked at 64 mph (103 km/h) at an agricultural station in Fairhope. High winds downed power lines and trees, leaving 177,000 people without power after the storm. A total of 17 shelters housed 4,977 people in the aftermath of the storm. Wind damage to the buildings was minimal. The storm spawned 20 tornadoes throughout Alabama. The most devastating tornado touched-down in Enterprise, causing severe damage to Camp Wiregrass and a few homes, while many residences in the city were left without electricity after numerous power lines were downed. Damages from the tornado amounted to roughly $1.5 million.
  While moving slowly through the state, it dropped torrential rainfall, peaking at 29.66 in (75 mm) in Bay Minette. Outer squalls spawned tornadoes in the southeast portion of the state, though damage from them was minimal. Several rivers in southern Alabama crested at record or near record heights at some locations, including the Conecuh River at Brewton, Fish River, Perdido River, and Styx River. Many homes situated near the banks of these rivers were destroyed or suffered extensive damage. Flooding the shutdown many bridges, highways, and secondary roads in Baldwin and Escambia counties, including Interstate 10 near the Alabama–Florida state line; U.S. Route 29 and Alabama State Route 113 in Flomaton; and US 31 in Brewton and Flomaton. Overall, damage in Alabama amounted to $125 million. Freshwater flooding in Mobile resulted in one death, the only direct death in the United States.
caption: A home destroyed by storm surge
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