Read an article online this AM talking about how some Florida residents, those that were highly affected by Ian, are considering moving out of Florida. To much stress in wondering where a hurricane will make a direct hit/landfall or any outer bands will affect where they live. Stress in wondering how much destruction will be done to their property and others. But, I'm sure, with any major hurricane, there have been those that did "think" about leaving, but decided not to. Hurricane Irma basically went right over our apartment complex in Jacksonville, Florida in 2017. Lots of flooding, downed trees and no power for a few days. Irma came over our complex in the middle of the night and neither of us had ever heard the wind blow as hard as it was. We were in a No Evacuation Zone due to how high we were above sea level. Some residents did leave, but we stayed and seen just how much destruction Irma did in the Jacksonville area. Not nearly as bad as Ian, but, for anyone experiencing a hurricane for the first time..........pretty terrifying!
Ok, if you lived in Florida and a major hurricane wiped out your home, would you rebuild and stay? There are those that do, just like in tornado prone areas of the U.S..
I would be willing to bet that whatever state you looked at, regardless of the circumstances, you would find that "some" residents of that state were considering moving.
Yes, Ken, we know. But, when it comes to a disaster, where a family loses their home and everything in it, "leaving" isn't due to cost-of-living, family emergency in another state or anything like that. This "moving" is due completely to weather.
I know. I just see similar headlines on news stories all the time and, when they do it, it's a non-story. You can always find someone who's unhappy, or who disagrees, whatever the topic.
I moved from Michigan to Florida 44 years ago because I couldn't stand the Michigan winters any longer. The cold, dark, damp, soggy winters. I've been through 44 years of hurricanes. I'm still here. There are "some people" who won't be happy anywhere, no matter where they move, as we well know.......
More importantly, should they rebuild? Pine Island was wiped out. It is an island 17 miles long and only 2 miles wide. It could only be reached by a bridge. Parts of the bridge were destroyed. If they build the bridge back and rebuild the buildings, it will cost millions of dollars. And the next strong hurricane could very well destroy it all again.
Ian hit an area in Florida that hasn’t seen the full effects of a hurricane in nearly a hundred years so the fatality and damage rate is more than probably due to inexperience and unreadiness. (my opinion) From the Keys all the way up the east coast of Florida, people are pretty much prepared to meet the eventual hurricane that’s going to go through their area and when one looks at the growing population, very few folks are deterred by the threat of a three month season of possible catastrophic weather. The only thing that would keep me from rebuilding if I were in that situation are the property insurance limitations whilst living in a hurricane and flood plane. Normal flood insurance coverage is extremely hard to get and one has to spend some major bucks on the Federal insurance programs which to some, aren’t affordable. Personally, if I really liked living in an area and had set down roots, I don’t believe any natural phenomena would be able to budge me.
I used to wonder about the flooding around the country. Why, when it was repetitive, does the Federal gov't keep subsidizing the re building. If you want to live in LA after Katrina, go for it. Or along any of the rivers with regular flooding. Or Florida. But, the month after I bought our farm, we had a 100 year flood. (so they said). It almost made it to the main house. I had a bit of buyers remorse, but I am still here after 13 years.
If your last sentence above pertains to wife and I, in part, you are absolutely correct. Even though we had many fun times in Florida, wife and I both agree that we shouldn't have moved there in the first place. Of course, we are now thinking that very same thing about where we are living now. But, "crap happens", as the old saying goes. Well, don't know if Michigan's winters are "that" bad. My wife has many cousins that still live in Michigan and have no reason to leave, no matter how bad the winters are. There are those that absolutely love any part of Florida, but did meet some that told us "we want out". As far as the word "winter" goes, believe us, the Jacksonville area can get a "Florida version" of winter. On Christmas Day, In December 2010, it was snowing in our apartment complex. Snowing! None of it stuck, but it did snow. I got video of it. Come to find out, even Daytona Beach has had snow on their beach. And, cold. There were mornings that we could see our breath outside and a light coating of ice and/or frost on grass.
And, the looting has started with some arrested and alligators/snakes have now found their way to flood waters where people are walking.
I think a big part of the issue is that people built their homes on legacy family property. Emotional attachments notwithstanding, the land had been paid for. They literally cannot afford to move. The part that kills me regarding FEMA support (other than it being another unconstitutional boondoggle) is that it's not means-tested.
The Outer Banks in North Carolina get hit hard pretty regularly. I heard that if your existing home is destroyed but the lot does not meet current requirements (offsets, minimum square footage, etc), you cannot rebuild. So you're paying a mortgage on a sandbox.
Not wishing to start a conspiratorial type of atmosphere but sometimes the sandbox is worth more without the sandcastle. Corporations are snatching up properties all over the south and I’m sure they would rather have building laws that would cripple a person’s ability to rebuild a single family home. If enough palms are greased, a residential area can be changed to commercial by the time the next council meeting takes place.