It will be water — the deadly storm surge churned up by such a massive and powerful hurricane. Storm surge and rainfall flooding have combined for three-quarters of U.S. deaths from hurricanes, tropical storms and cyclones over the last half-century — including at least 1,500 deaths during Hurricane Katrina, according to the hurricane center. Water levels were rising as far north as Jacksonville on Thursday morning as a strengthening Matthew tore through the Bahamas toward Florida, said Jamie Rhome, leader of the hurricane center's storm surge team. When Hurricane Jeanne hit Florida's Space Coast in 2004, it caused storm surge flooding up to 6 feet above normal tides from Melbourne south to Fort Pierce. Earlier this year, Hurricane Hermine was the first time forecasters experimented with storm surge watches and warnings for the public.

Source: Fox News October 06, 2016 18:00 UTC