Destin, Florida, is directly on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, thus highly vulnerable to hurricanes. The location on the panhandle might lend to a slightly decreased frequency of direct hits, but it is not exempt from powerful storm activities. In terms of elevation, most of Destin is less than 20 feet above sea level, with some areas even much lower; this greatly increases the risk of storm-surge flooding, particularly if a hurricane of significant strength makes a close pass or direct hit. Given its coastal nature and low-lying areas, Destin also runs a high risk of extensive flooding due to heavy rainfall during hurricanes. Historically, Destin has been affected by major hurricanes, including Hurricane Opal in 1995 and Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Both of these were high category hurricanes (Category 4 and 3 respectively) which caused widespread damage due to high winds, heavy rains, and storm surge. More recently, Destin was affected by Hurricane Michael in 2018, which while not a direct hit, brought storm surge and high winds to the area, demonstrating that Destin can be significantly impacted even by storms centered a fair distance away. Given these factors and historical precedent, Destin must be considered a high-risk area for hurricane impacts and storm-surge flooding.