PART V: POSTSTORM SURVEY 



12. A poststorm survey of the high-water marks due to Hurricane Kate 

 was conducted during the period 22-27 November 1985. The survey included the 

 reach of coastline from Gulf Shores, Ala., to St. Marks, Fla. The elevations 

 of high-water marks did not exceed +9 ft, but at some locations combined surge 

 and wave runup exceeded 16 ft. 



13. There was minor wind damage throughout the western end of the 

 Florida panhandle. The westernmost location where significant damage was 

 observed was Panama City Beach, Fla. The major beach erosion that occurred 

 throughout the eastern part of the panhandle began here. The extent of ero- 

 sion is evident in the condition of the seawall just west of the Rendezvous 

 Motel in Panama City Beach (Photo 1). The elevation of the surge-induced 

 flooding was approximately 5 ft. 



14. At Mexico Beach, the erosion was more severe, uncovering and 

 destroying a seawall (Photo 2) that had been completely buried by a sand dune 

 prior to the hurricane. Surge elevations estimated at this location from the 

 watermark on the side of the canal on the west end of town (Photo 3) were 

 approximately 7 ft. Wind damage in this area was relatively minor. 



15. The extent of wind damage increased rapidly farther east; an 

 example can be seen by the stripped siding and insulation on a storage tank at 

 the paper company in Port St. Joe (Photo 4). However, the amount of surge 

 damage in Port St. Joe was minimal due to the excellent protection offered by 

 the St. Joseph spit offshore. The spit itself suffered massive erosion, as 

 can be seen by the scarp cut into the duneline at the St. Joseph Peninsula 

 State Park (Photo 5) . The combined surge and wave runup at this location ex- 

 ceeded +16 ft. 



16. Property damage within the park was confined to boardwalks 



(Photo 6) due to the lack of construction along the beachfront. Farther south 

 at Cape San Bias, there was more extensive damage. Several homes were totally 

 destroyed (Photo 7) , and houses that survived were undermined by beach erosion 

 (Photo 8). The surge elevation at this location was approximately at 9 ft. 

 Many of the buildings located far enough from the beach to be protected from 

 surge damage suffered wind damage (Photo 9) . 



17. An attempt was made to survey St. George Island; however, surge- 

 induced flooding had undermined the approach ramp at the mainland end of the 



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