Fort Walton Beach through Panama City. Along the coast, tides ran above normal, peaking at . Hurricane Eloise spawned several tornadoes as it pressed inland. In general, rainfall ranged from ; at the Eglin Air Force Base near Valparaiso, however, the hurricane dropped of precipitation. The heaviest rainfall was usually confined to northwest of the storm's track, and a number of locations to the east of Eloise's center picked up less than of rain. Damage from the hurricane was widespread. Fort Walton Beach, where hundreds of structures were damaged or destroyed, was hit particularly hard. In some areas, the storm surge washed away buildings demolished by the strong winds. The winds cleared certain locations of trees and buried properties and roads under sand. Throughout northwest Florida, an estimated 8,000 people suffered storm-related losses, and 500 businesses were completely destroyed. An article in the Tallahassee Democrat reported that "Cottages, motels, restaurants, convenience stores and other beach businesses were strewn across the highway in a tangle of down power poles, lines and busted mains." A shrimp farm at Panama City, the first of its kind, was effectively lost. The storm destroyed the farm's prospective initial harvest, of shrimp enclosed in a system of nets and enclosures. The president of the company described the subsequent events as six months of extreme turmoil in an effort to recover, followed by a quick and steady rebound. By the spring of 1976, the company became confident in financial success and full recovery. The storm caused severe beach erosion in Bay County; approximately of sand was removed. Storm-related changes in the coastal topography resulted in extensive structural damage in the Panama City Beach area. The most severe damage was concentrated in a area of the shore east of the hurricane's eye, and storm surge peaked in intensity for no more than a half hour according to preliminary estimates. Much of the resultant damage came as a result of foundation undermining, which was compared to that of the New England hurricane of 1938. Although Eloise was not abnormally strong, the geographicy setting and building standards in the area were blamed for the destruction of many homes and businesses. Monetary losses from property damage in Panama City Beach alone totaled about $50 million. The first major storm to strike the region in 40 years, Hurricane Eloise did not directly kill anyone in the state of Florida. However, four deaths