This video of waves crashing directly into a house shows the danger and power of Hurricane Matthew's flooding
One of the biggest problems officials face in preparing for a hurricane is that many people simply ignore evacuation orders.
As Hurricane Matthew bore down on Florida this week before tearing up the coastline Friday, Rick Scott begged Floridians in evacuation zones to flee.
"This storm will kill you," he said.
But, inevitably, some people don't. One family on Merritt Island called 911 after the roof of their home "just flew off." Many more regret having stayed behind, according to WESH 2, a local NBC affiliate.
The most severe danger in any storm is floodwaters. They're powerful, immensely destructive, and can drown even strong swimmers. Most of the 1,836 deaths from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 happened as a result of flooding.
Footage out of Palm Coast Florida shows how scary and fast-moving a storm surge can be:
INCREDIBLE VIDEO: Watch as these waves crash into this Palm Coast house! https://t.co/R4Ty2ytBEg #HurricaneMatthew pic.twitter.com/hJ0xUC2MzP
- WESH 2 News (@WESH) October 7, 2016
In just a few moments, that wave of water crashes into and overtops a protective wall of sandbags, then crashes into the house. That's not enough time for a person to get out of the way or reach higher ground.
It's not clear exactly how WESH 2 News, a local NBC affiliate that tweeted the footage, got their hands on it. But it appears to come from a Canary home video security system, which can be viewed remotely. There's no reason to believe anyone was in the house when the wave hit.
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