Hurricane
Ivan
No. 12 in the
Team Tigerz History
Series
In the last 12 months, the Gulf Shores area has been threatened
by no less than five named storms. By far, the worst for most of
the Pleasure Island residents were Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina.
This site is close to where Hurricane Ivan made landfall on
September 16, 2004.
In a technical sense, Ivan was a classic, long-lived Cape Verde
hurricane that reached Category 5 strength three times. It was also
the strongest hurricane on record this far south east of the Lesser
Antilles. Ivan broke several other records; it is credited with
possibly causing the largest ocean wave ever recorded, a 91-foot
wave that may have been as high as 131 feet, and the fastest sea
floor current (under tow), at 2.25 meters per second (5 miles per
hour).
The storm died down from its maximum of 165 MPH before hitting
Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, and Pensacola at 120 MPH. It continued
on a destructive path through Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, the
Carolinas, and Virginia. Ultimately, Ivan is credited with causing
92 deaths and $16-18 billion in property damage.
Many parts of the Alabama Gulf Coast and Florida Panhandle had
not recovered from Ivan (we were close to a year getting back in to
our home), before they were hit by other storms, including
Hurricane Katrina. Some of the photos we’ve added to the gallery
were made a little over a month after Hurricane Katrina struck
Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. West Beach Boulevard was still
covered with beach sand and damaged belongings.
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