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Carrabelle, Florida

20 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1943 and the latest in 1988. It stands in the Carrabelle census division. It lies in ZIP code area 32322. It lies near Timber Island. The Survey maps it on the Carrabelle quadrangle. 2,606 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 26 feet above sea level.

Carrabelle within Franklin County

Then and now

1943 to 1988

The same ground, surveyed 45 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Carrabelle, surveyed 1988
Topographic sheet of Carrabelle, surveyed 1943

On record in Carrabelle

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

Carrabelle fell from 2,778 to 2,606 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20102,778
20202,606-172 (-6%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 20 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

137 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 137 fires within 5 miles of Carrabelle between 1992 and 2020, burning about 925 acres in total. 9 started naturally. 7 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined33
Railroad operations and maintenance30
Debris and open burning21
Misuse of fire by a minor14
Equipment and vehicle use12
Natural9
Arson/incendiarism7
Recreation and ceremony4
Smoking3
Other causes2
Fireworks1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
4 September 1995Railroad operations and maintenance8.0 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
30 September 2009Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreFlorida Forest Service(19) RIVER ROAD FIRE
28 September 2008Debris and open burningunder an acreFlorida Forest Service(19) SANBORN ROAD FIRE
28 September 2006Recreation and ceremony15 acresFlorida Forest Service(19) WARREN BLUFF COMMAND
20 September 2005Debris and open burning1.0 acresFlorida Forest Service(19) SAND SPUR FIRE
20 September 1996Smoking6.0 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
17 September 1992Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreFlorida Forest Servicenot named
12 September 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreFlorida Forest ServiceLAGOON (19-5)

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Franklin County

Storms near this place

17 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Carrabelle in 17 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 6 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 2 hail, 1 wildfire. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
October 2001LightningCarrabelle1 hurt, $5,000Lightning struck the Franklin County Jail and disabled the 911 dispatch telephone system for several hours. The Franklin County EOC was activated and utilized as a back-up 911 dispatch center until the communication system was repaired. One employee, a 911 dispatcher, suffered minor injuries. Reported by the Franklin County EMA.
January 2022Tornado (EF1)Carrabelle$75,000A tornado moved across portions of Dog Island early Sunday morning with damage to one residence reported. The roof was partially torn off with significant damage to the porch. This damage was consistent with an EF1 tornado with winds estimated around 95 mph. In addition, damage to trees and power lines occurred with Duke Energy reporting 97 customers without power on the island. A tornadic debris signature (TDS) was evident on TLH radar.
February 2016Thunderstorm WindCarrabelle$30,000A tree was blown down onto a house near Carrabelle. Damage was estimated.
September 2004Tornado (F0)Carrabelle$10,000A tornado uprooted numerous trees along its path between Carrabelle and Morgan Place. Reported by the Franklin County EMA.
August 2001Tornado (F0)Carrabelle$5,000A waterspout came ashore and overturned a vehicle on Lighthouse Road in Carrabelle. Reported by the Franklin County EMA.
August 1993Thunderstorm WindCarrabelle$5,000Strong thunderstorm winds blew a porch and roof off a mobile home.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindCarrabelle$3,000A few fences and a shed were blown over. A few trees were down. Reported by the Franklin County EMA.
March 2026Thunderstorm WindCarrabelle$2,000Fallen trees and limbs resulted in a power outage.
January 2016Thunderstorm WindCarrabelle$1,000Damage occurred to one of the river navigation lights at the mouth of the Carrabelle River. The damage cost was estimated.
September 2024Flash FloodCarrabelle-Water was fully covering the westbound lane of Highway 98 near Island View Park.
May 2023Thunderstorm WindCarrabelle-A tree was blown down in Carrabelle.
October 2011Heavy RainCarrabelle-A 2 day rainfall total of 5.64 was reported by CoCoRaHS site FL-FR-1. A total of 5.13 fell within the first day. No significant flooding was reported.
April 2006HailCarrabelle-The Franklin County Sheriff reported nickel to quarter size hail.
June 2000WaterspoutCarrabelle-A waterspout was sighted over the Carrabelle River. Two waterspouts also sighted near St George Island and Dog Island. No damage indicated. Reported by the Franklin County EMA and Sheriff.
July 1998WildfireCarrabelle-A 100+ acre wildfire erupted on the Franklin-Liberty County line, 12 miles north of Carrabelle off SR 67. Two homes were protected. The DOF, Carrabelle FD and Florida National Guard supported the firefighting efforts.
May 1998HailCarrabelle-Dime to golfball sized hail in Carrabelle, Dog Island, and Lenark Village.
September 2024Funnel CloudCarrabelle-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Franklin County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Carrabelle Beach1.8 miles20
Yent Place2.0 miles20
Carrabelle Lighthouse2.6 miles20
Lanark Village4.2 miles20
Pine Log5.9 miles20
Big Blackjack Landing6.1 miles20
High Bluff8.8 miles17
Green Point11.1 miles17

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on CarrabelleAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2157194The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 280069. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.