FL

Storm restoration across Okeechobee County

Okeechobee County sits inland along the northern shore of Lake Okeechobee, Florida's largest freshwater lake, making it uniquely vulnerable to lake-surge flooding rather than coastal storm surge. The 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane - the deadliest in Florida history - drove a wall of water 20 feet deep across the county, killing thousands and prompting construction of the Herbert Hoover Dike. Modern storms such as Hurricane Irma (2017) deliver destructive wind speeds well inland and produce 8-12 inches of rainfall that raises lake levels and stresses the dike system, threatening the roughly 40,000 residents in protected communities. The county also faces recurrent tropical-force winds, tornadoes spawned by landfalling storms, and prolonged freshwater flooding from both direct rainfall and lake-management releases.