Victims caught by the surge get battered by rough seas and debris, often drowning in the rising flood. Research of hurricanes hitting the U.S. mainland over the last half-century showed storm surges are responsible for about half of 2,

Storm surge is a bigger killer than wind when a major hurricane hits shore. The areas in the path of Hurricane Helene are more susceptible to surge than other parts of Florida's coast.

A raging river of Gulf of Mexico water ripped through the heart of Madeira Beach just minutes after deputes blocked access to Pinellas County’s barrier islands at 6 p.m. Thursday. It would be dusk by the time these densely populated islands would start facing the peak of Hurricane Helene’s storm surge,