Editing Mobile Bay (section)

=== Natural disasters in the area ===
The city has endured several devastating hurricanes in its history, the most recent being [[Hurricane Frederic]] in 1979 and [[Hurricane Katrina]] in 2005. Areas of low elevation, including the downtown business district, have been flooded repeatedly in hurricanes. However, much of the city is at an elevation exceeding {{convert|200|ft|m}} above sea level, which is unusually high for the Gulf and Atlantic coasts.

On September 13, 1979, [[Hurricane Frederic]] entered the bay with winds reaching {{convert|145|mph}}, destroying the bridge to Dauphin Island. On August 28–29, 2005, [[Hurricane Katrina]] pushed a massive [[storm surge]] into Mobile Bay; it measured {{convert|16|ft|m|1}} high at [[Bayou La Batre]] (Alabama), with higher waves on top, and {{convert|12|ft|m|1}} high at Mobile, at the far northern end of the 31-mile-long Mobile Bay. Thousands of boats, piers, and beach houses were damaged by waves exceeding {{convert|22|ft|m|1}} high, and the [[battleship]] {{USS|Alabama|BB-60|6}} was pushed off her moorings, leaving her listing to port (tilted to the left). Downtown Mobile was flooded several feet, and the south-end towns of [[Bayou La Batre]] and [[Bon Secour, Alabama|Bon Secour]] were severely damaged. Dozens of vessels of various sizes were left stranded inland.