FL

Storm restoration across Duval County

Duval County sits at the mouth of the St. Johns River, a wide, shallow, slow-moving waterway that traps storm surge inland rather than draining it quickly - a Category 3 hurricane could push a 20-foot surge up the river, flooding downtown Jacksonville, San Marco, and riverfront neighborhoods, while even a Category 1 storm can produce 6 feet of inundation. The county's greatest historical hurricane strike was Dora (1964), a Category 2 that made a rare direct landfall and caused 4 feet of street flooding during high tide; Hurricane Irma (2017) then produced the worst flooding in Jacksonville's recorded history when the St. Johns set record stages and hundreds of residents required rescue. Atlantic-facing beaches along the barrier island communities face direct oceanic storm surge of 3-5 feet in a moderate storm, while the broader county receives compounding threats from wind damage, river backflow, and heavy rainfall (6-10 inches in a strong system) that overwhelm flat, low-lying drainage infrastructure. Tropical systems affect the Jacksonville area on average every two years, making wind-driven roof and siding damage a routine restoration demand alongside post-surge structural and mold remediation.