Bay front owners - how do you deal with flooding?

[30ashopper]

Hey all,

I've been shopping all over the area, from Freeport, over to Bruce, down to Seacrest, over to Point Washington and Santa Rosa.

I've seen a number of properties listed right on the Bay, all seem to have the advantage of beautiful sunsets, seclusion, nice foliage, and pretty good pricing. My concern here obviously is flodding during storms. I'm hoping to find out from any owners here that have bay front lots, how do you deal with flooding during storms? Many of the properties I see are built up slightly but a lot are not on stilts. Do lower levels get flooded out regularly? How do you deal with that when it happens? Any info owners can provide would be appreciated.

-30ashopper

[Beachbummett]

We have a home on Mitchell Avenue that we have owned for about 6 years and it has never flooded as long as we have had it. Was also told that it did not flood during Hurricane Opal which I think was the benchmark for that part of the bay. During Ivan we had a few boards get bucked up along our board walk and lost the ladder that went from the boat dock into the water. After Hurricane Katrina we went ahead and got flood insurance on it just in case.

[scooterbug44]

Depending on the area/flood zone you are building in, you are probably required to build an elevated house and aren't supposed to have any living space below a certain height.

Most of the houses I know of (this is uber general) use the space underneath for parking, a workshop, storage etc.

[rapunzel]

We were looking at lots on the bay about a year ago, and found one we really loved. We had the some concerns about flooding, and asked a friend who is an architect with the Corps of Engineers to come and look at the lot for us. He glanced at it and said no, not this one. When I asked how he could be so sure, he told me to look at the trees, old oaks and magnolias meant it was safe, a bunch of youngish pines meant to search on. I thought that was a good tip.

We need to get ShollowsNole to tell the story of the hurricane that sucked all the water out of the bay when she was a kid. I can't remember the name of the storm....but she said it went up 331, and the front half blew all the water out of the bay and her dad had to run out during the eye and open all the doors during the eye because he knew the back half was going to blow it right back in with a little lagniappe.

[seagrovegirl]

We were looking at lots on the bay about a year ago, and found one we really loved. We had the some concerns about flooding, and asked a friend who is an architect with the Corps of Engineers to come and look at the lot for us. He glanced at it and said no, not this one. When I asked how he could be so sure, he told me to look at the trees, old oaks and magnolias meant it was safe, a bunch of youngish pines meant to search on. I thought that was a good tip.

We need to get ShollowsNole to tell the story of the hurricane that sucked all the water out of the bay when she was a kid. I can't remember the name of the storm....but she said it went up 331, and the front half blew all the water out of the bay and her dad had to run out during the eye and open all the doors during the eye because he knew the back half was going to blow it right back in with a little lagniappe.

The was probably Hurricane Eloise in 1975.......that was a nasty storm!

[ShallowsNole]

We are at the very eastern end of Choctawhatchee Bay, and our home sits on a 3 1/2 -ft-high slab. According to our surveyor, that put us at an 8 foot elevation. Having watched storm surge on several occasions on that site throughout my life, my experience told me that was plenty high. We have flood insurance - mortgage lenders require it when you build in a flood zone, but I have no desire for my home to flood in the first place. We have also installed a retaining wall to combat erosion and provide the first barrier to water.

I will tell you that after Katrina, and driving through Diamondhead, Mississippi (on the north side of Bay St. Louis) eight months later, I am no longer certain that we won't flood. :blink: But for the Cat 3 storms I've witnessed, including Eloise in 1975 for which South Walton was a direct hit, we should be fine. :cool:

[30ashopper]

I guess I should have gone digging in the archives too for answers. You guys tell some great stories!

Hubby did call me from the top of the 331 bridge to alert me that I very nearly collected on his life insurance. After the wind had died down and the surge receded, he and another officer headed for SoWal. They were between the small bridge and the large bridge when the bay came BACK up over the road. :eek: They could not tell where they were in reference to the road, the bridge, the bay...fortunately the officer behind hub had a spotlight and found the reflector at the base of the bridge. Four WCSO cars stuck on the bridge until the bay went back down, but thankfully safe.

To this day, he will tell you that being in that car and not knowing if he was on the road or headed for deep water is the most frightened he has ever been in his life.

http://sowal.com/bb/showthread.php?t=6796

[Smiling JOe]

We have a home on Mitchell Avenue that we have owned for about 6 years and it has never flooded as long as we have had it. Was also told that it did not flood during Hurricane Opal which I think was the benchmark for that part of the bay. During Ivan we had a few boards get bucked up along our board walk and lost the ladder that went from the boat dock into the water. After Hurricane Katrina we went ahead and got flood insurance on it just in case.
Two years ago, while helping one of Beachbummett's Bay front neighbors on Mitchell Ave, cover the windows with plywood, before the expected storm, I was asking him about previous storms and flooding. He and his wife have lived in that house for a while. His house is slightly farther west and I believe it to be slightly higher, than BB's house. He told me that the worst he has seen it was during Opal (they stayed), and that the storm surge stopped just about 1 ft below his yard. I'd guess that his yard is currently about 8' above the level of the Bay. I wasn't living here during Opal and don't recall what Cat it was rated.

[Franny]

SJ, Opal was a cat 3.

[sowalgayboi]

SJ they may want to consider that they were on the "good side" of Opal. Could have been a lot worse.

[Smiling JOe]

It wasn't the wind they were talking about, but the storm surge, which came into the Bay from the Destin Pass, combined with rainfall washing into the rivers which lead to the Bay.

[sowalgayboi]

I understand that, but they were on the western side of the storm. This means that the wind would have been moving south west, south, and then south east. This would evacuate the bay to a certain extent. If you are the eastern edge of the storm the wind would be blowing north west, north, and then north east. That would push water into or at least limit what could come out of the bay thus creating a much worse flooding situation. Of course that also assumes the storm is exactly the same just making land fall further west.

[Bob]

i'm confused...didn't Opal landfall at Navarre?

[SHELLY]

i'm confused...didn't Opal landfall at Navarre?

Yes, it did.

What this area needs to worry about is if a good-sized hurricane makes landfall just west of Destin Pass (i.e., the eye comes ashore on Okaloosa Island). In that case, the storm surge would push full-force into the Destin Pass and all the waterways would flood big-time.

This is what happened with Ivan. It came ashore just west of Pensacola bay and all the waterways flooded--the surge was so high and strong, it took out the I-10 bridge. I knew a gentleman who had a waterfront home well inland in Floridatown that was up on stilts, the water rose and took out the floor of his home and dumped the entire contents into the bay--my friend on Pensacola beach lost his entire home down to the slab (it was on stilts too).

.

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[Busta Hustle]

www.floodsmart.gov (http://www.floodsmart.gov)
go to flood risk profile and type in any address

be afraid/prepared!!!

[ASH]

The hurricane was moving north-northeastward near 20 knots at landfall with the sustained hurricane force winds in the eastern quadrants of the circulation primarily between Pensacola Beach and Cape San Blas. The minimum central pressure at landfall was 942 mb. Maximum sustained surface winds are currently estimated at 100 knots in a narrow swath at the coast near the extreme eastern tip of Choctawhatchee Bay about midway between Destin and Panama City. Although no official reports of surface winds were received within this area, data from reconnaissance aircraft and Doppler radar suggest that the peak winds occurred in this location. It should be emphasized that the strongest winds were in a very limited area and most of the coastal areas of the Florida panhandle experienced winds of a Category 1 or Category 2 hurricane (between 65 and 95 knots). Although the winds were diminishing at the time of landfall, extensive damage due to storm surge and breaking waves occurred over most of the coastal areas of the Florida panhandle.

From an NOAA site regarding Opal. It had unusual characteristics to it that had a localized impact that you speak of on this thread.

[jodiFL]

From what I remember about the different areas of SOWAL and the flooding during the various hurricanes.... Most of the areas to the east of 331 were OK but to the west some areas went under and took quite some time to dry out. All around Hogtown/ 393 the flooding was really bad but I cant remember anything around Pt. Washington being that way.
When I asked how he could be so sure, he told me to look at the trees, old oaks and magnolias meant it was safe, a bunch of youngish pines meant to search on. I thought that was a good tip.Very good tip for buying ANY lot around here because of wetlands/springs etc. I know of one in this area that the DEP was sure had a spring on it somewhere but couldnt find it so they had to approve fill for it. And another thing I was told was to look for areas of sawgrass in front of the lot because that is where the water will come up.

[ShallowsNole]

The minimum central pressure at landfall was 942 mb. Maximum sustained surface winds are currently estimated at 100 knots in a narrow swath at the coast near the extreme eastern tip of Choctawhatchee Bay about midway between Destin and Panama City.

:shock: :creepy:

OK, if there was ever any doubt about me evacuating, it's gone now...