PART V: POSTSTORM SURVEY OF HIGH WATER LEVELS 
25. <A poststorm visual survey of high water marks was made during the 
period 21-23 August 1983 from Matagorda Bay east to High Island, Texas, in- 
cluding the shoreline of Galveston Bay. The westernmost extent of surge- 
induced flooding appeared to have been in the vicinity of Sargent, Texas, at 
the eastern end of Matagorda Bay. Coastal flooding in this area, due to storm 
surge and wave setup, overtopped the low berm on the beach and built numerous 
washover fans on vegetated wetlands between the beach and a high man-made dune 
along the Intracoastal Waterway. The surge-generated component of this rise 
in water level appeared not to exceed +3 ft NGVD. Debris lines along the banks 
of the Intracoastal Waterway indicated a rise in water level of approximately 
+2 ft NGVD. 
26. At the US Coast Guard Station in Freeport near the mouth of the Old 
Brazos River, high water overtopped a low bulkhead approximately 3 ft above 
the normal water line but caused minimal flooding of the station itself 
(Photo 1). Nearby in Surfside Beach, the surge and wave setup breached the 
primary dune and damaged the coastal highway which is at an elevation of 
+8 ft NGVD. Between Surfside Beach and San Luis Pass, the approximate point 
of landfall, the surge overtopped the roadbed at an elevation of +8 ft NGVD 
and caused extensive damage to the highway (Photos 2-4). The entire eastern 
tip of Follets Island at San Luis Pass appeared to have been inundated by the 
surge. 
27. Between San Luis Pass and Jamaica Beach, 10 miles to the east, the 
surge exceeded +9 ft NGVD, overtopping Highway 257, the highest point on the 
western end of Galveston Island. Residences in the area exhibited extensive 
damage primarily from wind action. The total rise in water level reached approxi- 
mately +11 ft NGVD in Jamaica Beach and tapered to about +7 ft NGVD near the 
western end of the Galveston seawall. Water levels rose from both the Gulf 
of Mexico and West Bay sides on this portion of the island but did not exceed 
the elevation of the coastal highway. 
28. In the city of Galveston the storm surge did not exceed the +15 ft 
NGVD elevation of the seawall. Storm damage was limited to wind damage, some 
wave overtopping of the seawall, and flooding of low-lying areas near the 
causeway on the bay side. At East Beach, seaward of the Galveston seawall, 
the surge reached approximately +7 ft NGVD, causing extensive damage to 
15 
