What would happen if....

[hurricane_lover]

a Cat 5 Hurricane with winds between 170 and 200 mph ever hit the US coast? I mean, what type of damage would we be talking about?

[Brent]

You don't want to know...

Worse than Andrew and Charley. Storm surge would be over 20 feet and probably closer to 30 feet.

[SwampDawg]

Ask Mississippi....Camille hit. It had winds of 180

[storm4u]

The type of damage that noone wants to see let me just say if you stay you may not make it

[Brent]

The type of damage that noone wants to see let me just say if you stay you may not make it

If your within 5-10 miles of shore(depending on elevation), you'll drown from surge long before the winds kill you.

[Anonymous]

Even seen a F3 tornado's aftermath? Theres your answer, only add water.

[opera ghost]

Total destruction

http://www.geocities.com/hurricanene/hu ... amille.htm

http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/homep ... llery.html

[Brent]

Even seen a F3 tornado's aftermath? Theres your answer, only add water.

The damage would be more along the lines of an F4 or F5 because a hurricane is not a point like a tornado. There would be hours of the strongest winds which would cause even more damage than just a brief 170-200 mph wind would.

[TLHR]

Imagine an F3 Tornado 100 miles wide.

Category 5 Hurricanes are the type of storm where if you choose not to evacuate, the police ask you to write your name somewhere on your body in permanent marker.

Make identifying the dead easier.

[huricanwatcher]

can you say SUCK THE WIND RIGHT OUTTA YA?....... do ya really even need to ask?

[abajan]

Ask Swan Island (a little island near Honduras that was battered by Hurricane Janet in '55). Just about all of it's coconut trees were flattened by that monster. It takes a whole a LOT of wind to topple Coconut and other palm trees.

I know it's not part of the U.S mainland but I thought I should just throw that in for good measure.

[Brent]

Ask Swan Island (a little island near Honduras that was battered by Hurricane Janet in '55). Just about all of it's coconut trees were flattened by that monster. It takes a whole a LOT of wind to topple Coconut and other palm trees.

I know it's not part of the U.S mainland but I thought I should just throw that in for good measure.

They were battered by Mitch when he was a Cat 5 in 1998. (It was a VERY VERY slow mover).

How many people live there?

[Storminole]

Pictures from the 1935 Keys hurricane and Camille pretty much tell the story: obliteration.

[FritzPaul]

The 190mph winds were measured before the wind gauge was destroyed. Winds probably greater.

[Anonymous]

Well judging from those pics, Camille was far weaker than the Labor Day hurricane. It looks like a nuke it that area.

[FungusMoldlyColdcuts]

Camille was one of the most intense tropical systems ever to make landfall anywhere in the world. 1935 was also. Cannot compare them against each other, because they're incomparable, period.

[Anonymous]

It was, but its apparent that the Labor Day storm was worse. I mean, there are *at least some* trees standing in Camille's pic. Still thought both were terrible.

[Geoff Stormcloud]

The Camille image above was a 6 story apartment building. Poof. There is also a fmous picture of an oil tanker washed up on the beach.

[Anonymous]

The Camille image above was a 6 story apartment building. Poof. There is also a fmous picture of an oil tanker washed up on the beach.

Try 3 stories. Not to discredit Camille, but the Labor Day Hurricane is obviously more intense. The damage pics of the Keys is a bit worse than the damage pics in Miss. Still, both were dreadful.

[Sean in New Orleans]

What would happen??....Death in shelters.