Here’s How Storm Surges Are a Hurricane’s Greatest Threat

09/10/2017 03:17 am EDT

During his pleas to Floridians, Gov. Rick Scott warned residents how Hurricane Irma could produce a potentially deadly storm surge when the storm passes through the state's west coast.

CNN reports that Scott told residents that the threat of significant storm surge flooding along the entire west coast of Florida had increased, suggesting that it could be as high as to 6 to 12 feet.

"This will cover your house," Scott said.

But while the word "storm surge" gets thrown around and frightens so many, we are all secretly wondering what it really means and how it poses a threat to coastal communities, like those in Florida. Simply put, a storm surge is a steady rise in the water level caused by a major storm's wind as it gets closer to the shore.

The National Hurricane Center suggests a storm surge is often "the greatest threat to life and property from a hurricane."

In the past, massive death tolls have resulted from the rise of the ocean water associated with many of the major hurricanes that have made landfall on coasts. 2005's Hurricane Katrina was an imperative example of the damage and devastation that can be caused by such surges. More than 1,500 people lost their lives during Katrina when it hit the greater New Orleans. Many of those deaths occurred directly or indirectly, as a result of storm surge.

To make more sense of Irma's wrath and the potential for a storm surge, CNN meteorologist Gene Norman tells CNN that as the storm approaches the coast, it increases the water level by sending those waves inland.

Norman says, winds from the storm push the water toward the shore, but it's more complicated than that. Over time, with each wave coming in, the water slowly begins to accumulate, raising average water levels onshore — kind of like a tide. This will occur until it swallows up a beach or rises over the piers, ultimately causing flooding.

The CNN meteorologist agrees with the NHC that storm surges are a dangerous part of hurricane threats, but adds that the danger only grows as the water begins to destroy structures on land. Storm surges are so strong, they have the power to tear apart buildings and that resulting debris becomes part of the churning water's weapon, causing major concern for communities.

As for Scott's announcement, the hurricane center says parts of Florida's southwest coast could see "catastrophic" storm surges, measuring 10 to 15 feet high. It is one of the main reasons officials keep telling residents to move miles inland.

"You will not survive all this storm surge," Scott said Saturday. "This is a life-threatening situation."

Photo credit: Joe Raedle / Getty Images

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