FL

Storm restoration across Taylor County

Taylor County sits on the Florida Big Bend Gulf Coast, where shallow bathymetry and 45 miles of low-lying tidal marshland produce some of the largest storm surges in the United States - a Category 1 hurricane can drive 10 feet of surge and a Category 4 or 5 can push 34 feet above mean sea level, with inundation reaching 2 to 8 miles inland. The county took a direct Category 4 hit from Hurricane Helene on September 26, 2024, which made landfall roughly 10 miles west-southwest of Perry with 140 mph sustained winds and drove over 15 feet of surge into coastal communities, destroying an estimated 70 to 90 percent of structures in Keaton Beach, Steinhatchee, and Dekle Beach. Inland flooding is compounded by heavy rainfall from slow-moving Gulf systems and the Fenholloway and Steinhatchee river basins, and the county's timber and agriculture industries face additional losses from catastrophic wind damage even well away from the coast.