FL

Storm restoration across Dixie County

Dixie County sits on Florida's Big Bend coast, one of the most hurricane-vulnerable stretches in the state due to shallow offshore waters and low-lying terrain that amplifies storm surge. The county's own hazard mitigation plan projects surges reaching up to 24 feet at coastal communities, a figure borne out during Hurricane Idalia (August 2023, Category 3, 125 mph at landfall), when Horseshoe Beach recorded at least 10 feet of inundation - the first direct major hurricane strike in over a century. Inland flooding is a compounding and worsening threat: the county sits atop the Floridan Aquifer, which discharges to the surface during heavy rain, causing rivers such as the Suwannee and Steinhatchee to flood for weeks; Tropical Storm Elsa (2021) left roughly 200 homes with standing water for months. More than 30 percent of county residents live in mobile or manufactured homes, and the county has no levees or shoreline-protection infrastructure, making wind, surge, and freshwater flood damage especially severe and recovery prolonged.