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more intense the hurricane is, the sooner the surge arrives. Water rise can be very rapid, posing a serious threat to those who have waited to evacuate flood prone areas. A storm surge is a wave that has outrun its generating source and become a long period swell. The surge is always highest in the right -front quadrant of the direction the hurricane is moving in. As the storm approaches shore, the greatest storm surge will be to the north of the hurricane eye. Such a surge of high water topped by waves driven by hurricane force winds can be devastating to coastal regions. The stronger the hurricane and the shallower the offshore water, the higher the surge will be. In addition, if the storm surge arrives at the same time as the high tide, the water height will be even greater. The storm tide is the combination of the storm surge and the normal astronomical tide. Damage during hurricanes also may result from possible spawned tornadoes, and inland flooding associated with heavy rainfall that usually accompany these storms. Hurricane Andrew, a relatively "dry" hurricane, dumped 10 inches of rain on south Florida and left many buildings extensively water damaged. Rainwater may seep into gaps in roof sheathing and saturate insulation and ceiling drywall, in some cases causing ceilings to collapse. Crop damage is another powerful effect of hurricanes and tropical storms. Tropical Storm Mitch in 1998 dropped as much as 10 inches of rain in some south Florida areas, which resulted in approximately $20 million in crop damage in Palm Beach County alone (Associated Press, 1998). According to the University of Florida (2001), of Indian River County's 322,112 acres, 168,399 acres are farmland. With 52% of its land area being farmed, Indian River County is particularly vulnerable to crop damage resulting from the wind and rain from hurricanes and tropical storms. Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Jeanne crossed citrus -producing counties in Florida in 2004, followed by Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne affected the Treasure Coast directly, making landfall three weeks apart in Martin County. A special census to measure the losses was conducted in mid - 2005 in the four counties of Indian River, Martin, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie. Because of these hurricanes, Indian River and St. Lucie Counties only produced 36% of the state's grapefruit Indian River County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan Basic Page 16