Case Study Hurricane Floyd

In early September 1999, the name, Floyd would soon be remembered for years and years. Hurricane Floyd struck the eastern coast of the United States in during the mid-month of September of 1999. This storm originated over the Atlantic off of the western region of Africa. Although Floyd only began as a tropical wave, it became a storm the United States thought could be the biggest and strongest they had ever seen. In preparation for this storm from Weather Forecast Offices and different Prediction Centers began to warn the public. Although the strange path of the hurricane, it was believed that it could directly hit Florida and wreak havoc up the coastline of the United States. As Floyd raised its power as it survived, it had almost become a Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale which is the highest category there is. Floyd became responsible for the largest evacuation in United States history. The articles used in this paper will identify the beginning of Floyd and how its path affected the outcome of Florida’s evacuation evaluation. They will show how it was prepared, and who played their roles. In conclusion to this study will show contrast to previous hurricane emergencies and contribute to possible methodologies to mitigate for a future evacuation demand.

Hurricane Floyd can originally be traced to Western Africa from a Tropical Wave that emerged on September 2nd, 1999. As the storm moved across the Atlantic in eyes of Weather Forecasters, they upgraded the system to Tropical Storm Floyd on September 8th. As the storm loomed closer to the United States’ worries, it became as what is known now as Hurricane Floyd at 8 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time on September 10th. By September 12th, Floyd turned more westward and began a large strengthening installment right above the Bahamas Islands heading straight for the Southeast tip of Florida. James Lee Witt spoke “Floyd had potential to be the worst hurricane to ever strike the East Coast. This