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Hurricane Ivan

"Hurricane Ivan was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane, and the fourth major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season (www.gulf-shores-alabama)." Hurricane Ivan developed from a large tropical storm that crossed the Atlantic Ocean from the west coast of Africa. A few days later Ivan strengthened and became a full hurricane about 1150 miles east of the southern Windward Islands. By the time Ivan reached Grenada, it was a Category 3 hurricane. In the Caribbean, Ivan became a Category 5 hurricane, with sustainable wind speeds of 160 mph. As Ivan moved through this area it left a considerable amount of damage to the Caribbean Islands. The hurricane was downgraded to a category 4 hurricane, but by the time it entered the Gulf of Mexico it was a Category 5 hurricane again. When making landfall just west of Gulf Shores, Alabama it had been reduced to a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of near 120 mph. When Ivan moved inland it spawned 117 tornadoes across the eastern United States. The death toll from Ivan was calculated to be a total of 92 people; 39 in Grenada, 25 in the United States, 17 in Jamaica, 4 in Dominican Republic, 3 in Venezuela, 2 in the Cayman Islands, 1 in Tobago and 1 in Barbados.

The total damage of Hurricane Ivan was estimated to be around $18 billion United States Dollars (USD). The total damage for the United States was estimated to be near $14.2 billion USD (www.nhc.noaa.gov). The area that had the most severe damage when Ivan hit landfall on the coastline of the United States was in Baldwin County in Alabama. Some of the main damage created by Hurricane Ivan's intense winds was the collapse of several condominium and apartment buildings. These winds toppled power lines and damaged Alabama's electrical power grid leaving nearly 500,000 homes without power. "Ivan broke several hydrological records; it is credited with possibly causing the largest ocean wave ever recorded, a 91-foot (27 meter) wave that may have been as high as 131 feet (40 m), and the fastest seafloor current, at 2.25 meters per second (5 miles per hour) ( www.gulf-shores-alabama.net)." In 2005, the World Meteorological Organization retired the name Ivan and will replace it with the name Igor for the 2010 season (www.gulf-shores-alabama.net).

Escambia County

Escambia County is 876 square miles and Pensacola is the county seat. The population in 2000 was approximately 296,000. This number translates to over 74,000 families with a population density of 444 people per square mile. There were 124,647 housing units at an average density of 188 per square mile. The county had a racial makeup of 72.35% White, 21.4% Black, and Native Americans, Asians, Pacific Islanders and other races making up the other 6%. The median income for a household in the county was $35,234, and the median income for a family was $41,708. The per capita income for the county was $18,641. About 12.10% of families and 15.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.70% of those under age 18 and 9.60% of those ages 65 or over. (U.S. Census Data, 2000)

Ivan made landfall just 20 miles to the west of Escambia County. This put the northeast quadrant of the hurricane and eye wall across both Baldwin and Escambia Counties. As with most hurricanes, the greatest intensity of the storm was located to the east-northeast of the storm center. Because of this, Escambia County sustained the most severe storm impact and structural damage from Hurricane Ivan in Florida (Leadon, 2004). Wind speeds of 108 mph were recorded at the Pensacola Naval Air Station. Escambia County received the highest storm surge of over 12 feet and saw the most rainfall with over 15 inches recorded in Pensacola (Medlin, Ball, & Beeler, 2009). The entire Escambia County portion of Perdido Key sustained major beach and dune erosion. Extensive over wash of beach and dune sand across the barrier island from the Gulf shoreline landward occurred throughout the area within the developed areas of Perdido Key, as well as, the approximately 6.5 miles of undeveloped land within the Gulf Islands National Seashore. (Leadon, 2004)

The Damages

Damage from the storm was very extensive and extended far inland from the coast. Downtown Pensacola was heavily impacted as well as portions of the Interstate 10 bridges that cross Pensacola Bay. The bridges were knocked out of alignment and cost over $26 million dollars to repair. Even with the repairs, the structural integrity was still an issue and both bridges had to be replaced. There were also several other highways that were badly damaged. Three miles of U.S. 98 (Pensacola Bay Bridge) had to close because storm surge erosion displaced the approaches. U.S. 90 (Escambia River Causeway) was impassable because of debris and damage but was able to reopen after September 22nd. Florida 292 (Perdido Key Bridge/Perdido Key Road) had to be closed because of flooding and structural damage. Shuttle services had to be implemented for area residents because the highway took months to repair. (Ivy, 2007)

Not only were highways in the county badly damaged, but building structures were also severely impacted. Hurricane Ivan destroyed thousands of homes throughout its path. Over 6,000 homes were lost in Escambia County alone. The Perdido Key portion of Escambia County's coastal area, the area of Florida nearest to Ivan's point of landfall, suffered extensive structural damage from Hurricane Ivan. A total of 69 habitable structures were destroyed or sustained major damage, including 24 single-family dwellings and 45 multi-family dwellings. A total of 14 non-habitable major structures were destroyed or sustained major damage. In addition, a total of 41 habitable structures, 13 single-family dwellings and 28 multi-family dwellings, sustained moderate to minor damage to understructure areas and/or sustained moderate to minor roof damage. Extensive additional damage to ancillary structures such as parking areas, decks, walkways, etc. also occurred. (Leadon, 2004)

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