Could a major hurricane hit major Florida cities and destroy them in the future?

Could a category 5 hurricane hit major Florida cities like Tallahassee, Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando, Panama City, and Pensacola and destroy everything in them?

Public Comments

1. Of course
2. Look what happened to Miami and Fr. Lauderdale when they got hit a few years back. Yes a major hurricane could wipe any major city out with a direct hit.
3. Unfortunately, a category 5 hurricane can hit any city along the coast of Florida, as well as any other coastal state along the eastern seaboard. Florida will be the most likely target for such hurricanes because most hurricanes develop in the warm waters of the southern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. The cities at most risk are the ones closest to the coast such as Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville. The biggest factor that causes the most losses of life is the storm surge associated with hurricanes. The ocean will literally rise and spill over sometimes as much as 1 mile inland. High tides are especially dangerous because if a storm comes in during high tide, the storm surge will be even greater than it would have been during non high tide. Luckily, category 5 hurricanes don't happen as often as category 1 hurricanes, but anyone along the coast must be prepared for the worst case scenario, especially Florida.
4. When it comes to major Hurricanes, the coastal areas are not immune to them...so yes, it can destroy a coastal city. Luckily, Cat. 5s are few and far in between.
5. yes it could 8-)
6. Sure.
7. Oh yeah, that's highly possible, actually. I think that a lot of the buildings are well structured, though. Also, I don't think the inland cities, like Orlando, would get as much damage... not unless it was some killer 300+MPH winds coming through. They wouldn't get the storm surge.
8. I doubt Jacksonville because of how Florida is shaped. It usually dissipates by then, of course you never know.