Milton's storm surge is a threat that could be devastating far beyond the Tampa Bay region

abcnews.go.com:

Florida communities near Tampa Bay were devastated when Hurricane Helene made landfall two weeks ago about 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the north

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Two weeks ago, Hurricane Helene “spared” the Tampa Bay region a direct hit and yet storm surge still caused catastrophic damage, flooding homes, drowning people who decided to stay near the coast and leaving massive piles of debris that still sit along roadsides.

Now that Hurricane Milton, a more powerful storm, is heading straight for the same region, what can residents expect?

“Worse. Much worse,” said former Federal Emergency Management Director Craig Fugate, a Florida resident who previously ran the state's emergency management division.

The cities near the mouth of Tampa Bay saw some of the worst storm surge in memory during Helene even though the storm landed more than 100 miles (161 kilometers) to the north. Now forecasters say the low-lying region could be hit with 15 feet (5 meters) of storm surge.

“This isn’t water that rises slowly. This is fast-moving water with waves. It’s like a battering ram," Fugate said. «You just don’t want to be in that area. That’s how we lost a lot of lives in all those surge areas where people didn’t get out. They either drowned or were crushed by their houses collapsing on them.”

Storm surge is the level at which sea water rises above its normal level.

Much like the way a storm’s sustained winds do not include the potential for even stronger gusts, storm surge doesn’t include the wave height above the mean water level of the surge itself.

Surge is also the amount above what the normal tide is at the time, so a 15-foot (5-meter) storm surge at high tide with 10-foot (3-meter) waves on top of that can level buildings