SafeAssign will be used to check for originality and plagiarism Section 1 Section 1 should be minimum of two pages in length. Follow APA guidelines if information is cited. Following a Category 1 hurr

The island is a bridgeless barrier island located off the southwest coast of the United States. The nearest

municipality is a 45 -minute drive from the marina . Then , it takes an additional 10 to 15 minutes to reach

the island by ferry or boat. The water between the mainland and the island is designated as a protected

wildlife zone by the state fish and game commission. All boat traffic is limited to 15 miles per hour. The

island is approximately 7 miles in leng th and varies between 1/8 to 3/8 miles wide. The length and width

of the island changes as currents erode and deposit sand along the shoreline. The only vehicles on the

island consist of electric golf carts used by residents, one 1940 s-style Jeep used to grade the main road,

a power and light truck, and fire department apparatus .

During January , high winds and heavy rain cause d localized flooding throughout the island. Due to

building codes , the majority of the homes are on stilts , and floodin g impeded the use of golf carts on the

unimproved paths and dirt roads that le ad to those homes built in the 1950s. Septic tanks backed up and

overflow ed into stagna nt flood waters. The only wastewater treatment plant on the island was affected

because of the increase in rainfall that caused the plant to exceed its capacity.

Flood waters migrated to the unimproved paths and dirt roads because of years of use , causing the sand

and dirt to displace lower than the existing island. The National Weather Service issued a tropical storm

warning notification for most of the coastal areas in February . Many of the people on the island did not

heed any of the warnings even though National Weather Services warned of wind speed s equal to a

Category 1 hurricane. After all, they survived Hurricane Donna in the 19 60s, which had no real warnings .

The storm's initial onslaught began at approximately 2:30 P.M. on February 21. The heavy rains

continued until 3 A.M . on February 22. These torrential rains added to the already saturated ground from

previous rains. The warning system, established to alert sleeping citizens in the rural areas on the

mainland, proved to be inadequate and could not be heard on the island. Virtually all deaths occurred

from the failure of the emergen cy operations center to initiate timely warnings and to implement

evacuation of the low -lying areas along the coastal area of the island.