Storm Surge creates one of the greatest potentials for loss of life related to a hurricane. Over the past decades, storm surge has claimed nine of ten victims .

The winds moving around the hurricane create and push a wall of water towards the shore. This advancing wall of water combines with the normal tides to create the hurricane storm tide. These storm tides can increase the mean water level 15 feet or more. Additionally, the winds create waves on top of the storm tide. These combined water levels can cause severe flooding in coastal areas, particularly when the storm tide coincides with the normal high tides. Because much of the United States' densely populated Atlantic and Gulf Coast coastlines lie less than 10 feet above mean sea level, the danger from storm tides is tremendous.

As depicted below, the level of the storm surge for a particular area is also affected by the slope of the continental shelf. In areas where the continental shelf has a shallow slope along the coast [bottom, left picture] will allow a greater storm surge to inundate the coastal communities. Areas along steeper continental shelf profiles (bottom, right picture) will not see as much inland surge inundation, although large breaking waves can still cause major problems. The Mid-Atlantic region (including Hampton Roads) is adjacent to a portion of the continental shelf with a long shallow slope.

Wave and current actions alone can cause extensive damage to coastal areas. The force of the waves created by the hurricane can demolish structures. A cubic yard of water weighs approximately 1,700 pounds, and structures not designed to withstand these forces are severely damaged due to the constant pounding by the wave action.

Tidal currents combined with the wave effects can also severely erode the beaches and coastal highways along the shore. Building foundations may be undermined by the tidal erosion, causing them to weaken and fail, especially while under the influence of hurricane force winds. Major damage to ships, marinas, and pleasure boats can be expected from the effects of storm tides, waves and currents in confined harbors and other areas.

Besides the actions of the storm surge and tidal influences, the inundation of water can cause animals, snakes and other creatures to move inland. This can create additional dangers to public health and safety.

One tool available to weather forecasters and emergency managers is a software program called SLOSH . This program attempts to predict the effect of the potential storm surge that a hurricane may cause in a given area.