Remembering 1999 Hurricane Floyd

Vickie Frantz
By Vickie Frantz, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer
September 17, 2012; 7:11 AM
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Hurricane Floyd made landfall near Cape Fear, N.C., Sept. 16, 1999 as a Category 2 storm.

At the time of landfall, Floyd had a forward speed of nearly 15 mph. The hurricane hit hard with wind gusts estimated to be 103 mph. Storm surge depths of 9 to 10 feet were reported along the coast of North Carolina.

Floyd was the deadliest hurricane in the U.S. since Hurricane Agnes in 1972, according to The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). When the storm was over, 57 people had been killed (56 in the U.S. and one in Grand Bahama Island). Most of the deaths were attributed to freshwater drowning.

After impacting North Carolina, Floyd's forward speed increased to nearly 33 mph. Despite the quick movement of the system, rainfall totals for states along the eastern coast of the U.S. were staggering.

Rainfall of 15 to 20 inches fell in parts of eastern North Carolina and Virginia. Areas of Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey received as much as 12-14 inches of rain. Philadelphia set a record for the most rainfall in a calendar day with 6.63 inches.

Damages from Floyd were determined to range from $3 to more than $6 billion dollars.

Remembering Hurricane Floyd: September 7-17, 1999

Storified by Accu Weather · Sat, Sep 15 2012 10:52:20

A flock of flamingos in a bathroom at Miami-Metro Zoo, put there in an effort to save them from Hurricane Floyd. http://pic.twitter.com/QD7gptiFAngela Paolini
On this day in 1999 hurricane Floyd caused the first ever closure of Disney world. I was there! #scary #barewindJames Davies
Remember how close it came to Jacksonville?Bill Lyne
#BBNJE Do you remember Hurricane Floyd? Can you believe it's been almost 13 years on September 17th 1999 http://pic.twitter.com/TZMOfO2ABound BrookNJ Events
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This picture taken near Wakefield, Va., is courtesy of NOAA Senior Forecaster Wayne Albright.
This Day in Hazard History: Hurricane Floyd forced the largest evacuation in U.S. history, affecting 3 million across the SE #ReadyGAGeorgia_EMA
Hurricane Floyd EvacuationChad_Norman
Hurricane Floyd - 10th AnniversaryFloyd was a large and intense Cape Verde hurricane that pounded the Bahama Islands, seriously threatened Florida, struck the coast of Nor...
It was scary !! Will never forget it !Paula Weech Unhjem

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