FL

Storm restoration across St. Johns County

St. Johns County faces a layered storm threat driven by its Atlantic coastal exposure and the low-lying topography surrounding the St. Johns River, Matanzas Bay, and barrier island communities. Storm surge is the primary life-safety hazard: Hurricane Matthew (2016) pushed 5 to 7 feet of surge into St. Augustine's historic downtown, Davis Shores, and Lincolnville neighborhoods, and Hurricane Irma (2017) repeated the same pattern with 3 to 5 feet of inundation. Approximately 90 percent of St. Augustine residents live within a floodplain, and flooding occurs not only from named storms but from normal rainfall coinciding with peak tides and overbank flows from the San Sebastian River and its tributaries. Wind damage is significant countywide, while newer inland communities in the rapidly growing western corridor face freshwater flash flooding from intense convective rainfall that overwhelms drainage systems.