TAMPA, Fla.—It was a storm surge of historic levels.
Hurricane Helene delivered record-setting amounts of seawater into Tampa Bay and onto the Gulf Coast beaches, according to the National Weather Service’s Tampa Bay Office.
The office told The Epoch Times that the preliminary storm surge measured as high as 7.2 feet in East Bay, located east of Ybor City, 6.83 feet in Old Port Tampa, located in South Tampa just north of MacDill Air Force Base, and 6.31 feet in St. Petersburg, and 6.04 feet in Port Manatee.
Clearwater Beach registered 6.67 feet.
The influx of water, which began before sunset on Sept. 26 and reached its peak after 1 a.m. on Sept. 27, resulted in catastrophic and unprecedented flooding and multiple apparent drownings….