Damage assessments and rescue operations are underway as the brunt of the storm hit the state’s Big Bend, also the landing site for Hurricane Idalia just over a year ago.

A catastrophic and deadly storm surge is likely along portions of the Florida Big Bend coast, where inundation could reach as high as 20 feet.

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,