U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
Water Resources Investigations Report 98-4231.
By
D. Phil Turnipseed,
Gerald L. Giese,
J. Leroy Pearman,
Gaye S. Farris
M. Dennis Krohn, and
Asbury H. Sallenger, Jr.

AP Photo/Mobile Register,
G.M. Andrews

Index of Topics
Index of Figures
  1. Barometric pressure
  2. Total rainfall
  3. Selected gages
  4. Selected surge elevations
  5. Aerial photos

Index of Tables
  1. Provisional flood information

Index of Illustrations
  1. Storm track
  2. Wind & surge
  3. 100 Year flood
  4. Beach erosion
  5. USGS Hydrologist
  6. Redhead duck

List of references
Hurricane Georges:
 Headwater Flooding, Storm Surge,
Beach Erosion, and Habitat Destruction
on the Central Gulf Coast

Hurricane Georges (pronounced "Zhorzh"), battered the Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, and the Florida Keys from September 18 through 25, 1998, before slamming into the Gulf Coast areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the panhandle of Florida from September 28 through 30. Hurricane Georges brought torrents of rain and wind that caused many rivers in the region to flow to all-time record levels. Georges' rampage killed more than 460 people in the Caribbean and United States and was one of the most destructive and deadly storms to form in the Atlantic Ocean in recent years.

In keeping with the mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to provide the Nation with reliable, impartial information to describe and understand the Earth, crews from the Water Resources Division (USGS-WRD), in cooperation with many State and local agencies and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Mobile District, began the hazardous task of measuring water levels and flood flows and surveying storm surge on September 28, soon after landfall of Georges. National Mapping Division (USGS-NMD) personnel worked closely with emergency management agencies to update and maintain the inventory of cartographic products necessary to support emergency management operations. These cartographic products were available in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida during the Hurricane Georges disaster. Additional support was provided to the American Red Cross with the distribution of maps in the Central Gulf Coast area. Crews from the Geologic (USGS-GD) and Biological Resources (USGS-BRD) Divisions mobilized immediately after the storm to obtain aerial photography of the barrier islands in the Central Gulf Coast to assess coastal erosion and habitat destruction. This report presents selected provisional data on headwater flooding, storm surge, beach erosion, and habitat destruction caused by Hurricane Georges along the Central Gulf Coast.

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Last modification November 20, 1998
H. Scott Dennis