These Climate Resistant Florida Communities Weathered 2 Hurricanes – No Problem
Category: Active adult communities
October 23, 2024 – Residents of Florida are concerned, rightly, about the hazards of extreme weather events like hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. So it was interesting to see how two communities, designed to take whatever Mother Nature can dish out, and located in the center of the storm area, would fare after Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Babcock Ranch near Fort Myers, and Hunters Point on Anna Maria Island weathered both storms with almost no damage, flooding, or electrical outages.
Babcock Ranch residents sat out the ‘canes in safety in a designated building for refuge, and were even joined by residents of nearby towns. There was tree damage but no loss of power in either community. Communities like these are proof that with proper planning and strong building codes, people can be safe and property protected, even in the face of the ever increasing risk of climate disasters.The New York Times recently reported on the Babcock Ranch success in its “A Climate Resistant Community Passed Its First Tests” article .
The Hunters Point Blog proudly touted how well that community did in the face of the two giant storms. The difference in outcomes for these communities vs. others in other nearby areas is telling. While lives were lost, power went down for days on end, public infrastructure destroyed, homes demolished and knocked off their foundations, there was no flooding, power losses, or injuries at Babcock Ranch and Hunters Point.
Comments on "These Climate Resistant Florida Communities Weathered 2 Hurricanes – No Problem"
Jini says:
Our neighborhood in Lakewood Ranch also had almost no damage except to some trees and pool cages. The homes were built to the most recent codes. It makes a huge difference!!
Yolande says:
I have friends in Daytona. They too sustained minimal damage & have been through Ian & Milton in the 2 yrs they've lived there. They spent the $$ to build to Hurricane standards, like CA does for Earthquakes. I'm considering moving to FL closer to my friends. I want to get a fixer but want to make sure I build to Hurricane standards too, since I want to be near the beach. I asked why FL does not have homes on stilts. Was it a visual issue or something else? You would think that they would allow it like other states in the path of Hurricanes does. I just thought it was odd because they get a lot of damage in FL. My friend said people are now having their homes lifted & placed on stilts.
I'm glad because I want to have some chance of not losing everything in one fell swoop in massive storms like that. She said during Milton they had 11 tornadoes. That's another scary storm I didn't really want to live around. I'll tell you, it doesn't matter where you live you'll be dealing with something. You just have to pick your poison. I can't afford the Pacific Northwest beach areas so I have to move to the SE if I want to find something affordable.