Hurricane Matthew is about to slam Donald Trump's most prized real estate

Jason Abbruzzese
Updated
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Mar-a-Lago, the country club in West Palm Beach that is one of Donald Trump's marquee pieces of real estate, is at risk of sustaining damage due to Hurricane Matthew.

The storm will soon bear down on the east coast of Florida, with the National Hurricane Center issuing a serious warning about Matthew's potential impact. The warning indicates the "potential for devastating damage across coastal Palm Beach County," which is where Mar-a-Lago sits. 

SEE ALSO: Hurricane Matthew could render areas 'uninhabitable for weeks'

In addition to seeing hurricane force winds of greater than 74 miles per hour, West Palm Beach, which is along the state's east coast, where  Mar-a-Lago sits, could receive more than three feet of standing water from the hurricane's storm surge, according to a projection from the National Hurricane Center.

The experimental storm surge inundation map below shows West Palm Beach with an arrow to the rough location of Mar-a-Lago.The inundation levels refer to a reasonable worst-case scenario for the flooding of normally dry land. There is about a 1-in-10 chance that storm surge flooding at any particular location, including the area where Mar-a-Lago is, could be higher than the values shown on the map. 

Storm surge inundation graphic as of Thursday morning Oct. 6, 2016.
Storm surge inundation graphic as of Thursday morning Oct. 6, 2016.

Image: NOAA NHC

The Palm Beach Daily News reported that the estate has weathered numerous hurricanes since it was constructed in 1927. 

The main building was constructed to withstand major weather events, with its structure attached to the coral reef that sits below the complex as well as many walls that a three feet thick. 

Mar-a-Lago, then Marjorie Merriweather Post Hutton's home in Palm Beach, Florida, in January 1928.
Mar-a-Lago, then Marjorie Merriweather Post Hutton's home in Palm Beach, Florida, in January 1928.

Image: Bettmann Archive/getty images

Trump purchased the estate in 1985 for $5 million (and a few million more for the furnishing and antiques inside), turning it into a private club as well as retaining part of it for a private family residence. 

Since then, the property has been among Trump's most renowned and, at times, controversial properties. Trump sometimes ran afoul his new neighbors in the affluent but quiet Palm Beach for breaking the community's local rules. 

Trump used the estate to host major events featuring well-known celebrities. Trump also held his wedding to Melania Trump at the estate, resulting in the now-iconic picture featuring The Donald, Melania and Bill and Hillary Clinton.