Hurricane Frederic was an intense and damaging tropical cyclone Catastrophe that carved Bodily_harm a path of damage Damaging from the Lesser Antilles to Quebec , in particular devastating Destroying areas of the United States Gulf Coast .

Prior to its final landfall , the threat that Frederic imposed Action on areas of the U.S. Gulf Coast triggered Causation a mass exodus from the region larger than any other evacuation Escaping in the past .

Favorable conditions in the open Atlantic allowed Preventing_or_letting for Frederic to reach Arriving hurricane Catastrophe intensity on September 1 .

However , outflow from nearby Hurricane David began Process_start to inhibit Preventing_or_letting further intensification and would continue to do so for roughly a week , weakening Cause_change_of_strength Frederic as it tracked Self_motion across the Greater Antilles .

From then on , Frederic moved Motion northwestward , intensifying Cause_change_of_strength to its peak intensity in the Gulf of Mexico with winds of 130 mph ( 210 km/h ) on September 12 , shortly before making landfall at Dauphin Island , Alabama just below the state line between Alabama and Mississippi .

Damage estimates vary due to inadequate reporting Reporting of private insurance claims Statement as well as lack of hard data on uninsured damage Damaging ; Frederic is believed Know to have inflicted Causation $ 5 million ( 1979 USD ) in both Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands , with an additional $ 1.7 billion in damage Damaging on the mainland United States .

FEMA , which had been established Building only three months before Frederic hit Attack , was the focal point for nearly $ 250 million in federal aid Assistance for recovery , $ 188 million of which went Motion to Alabama ( 1979 USD ) .