Major Hurricane Idalia hit Florida last week

Further to the above from this morning’s Times. People resist having to rebuild to new code standards as necessary to obtain subsidized flood insurance but rely on federal bailouts to rebuild after predictable (over 1-2 decades) regular losses. Their desire to maintain the character of the community and save costs is understandable, but it’s a subsidized model. They decry burdensome regulation while still wanting the bailout.


But despite the evidence showing how important elevation can be, it’s common for coastal cities in the wake of a storm to buck new codes, specifically because of concerns like Reinke’s. Although the building codes in play are enforced by the local government, they originate with FEMA’s flood insurance program. To stay a part of it, and therefore have access to cheap flood insurance and federal relief money after a storm, communities agree to build to a certain standard. One of those standards includes rebuilding destroyed homes better than they were before. After a hurricane, if repair costs meet or exceed 50% of a property’s market value, it’s considered “substantially damaged” and must be rebuilt to the newest codes, which usually means elevating.

After Hurricane Michael hit Mexico Beach, the city introduced new building codes that called for homes to be built even higher than state codes require. Then, two years later, the city undid its groundbreaking work after significant pushback from residents. Today, some homes are only built 6 inches higher than they were before the hurricane soaked them with more than 6 feet of storm surge.

In Southwest Florida, frustrated homeowners who can’t — or don’t want to — pay to fully update their properties complained to local politicians, who asked federal officials to introduce “wiggle room” in the process and spare some homes from elevation. In some cities, they walked back rules originally put in place to encourage people to elevate their homes. Disasters like Idalia highlight the trouble with balancing the desires of individuals in a community versus the “greater good,” said Stephen Strader, an associate professor at Villanova University in the Department of Geography and Environment.

Without those regulations in place, it’s cheaper and easier for communities to just keep rebuilding in harm’s way, and waiting for federal bailouts to fix things when they go wrong. “When we build back in the same place, in the same way, we’re setting ourselves up for the same impacts years later,” he said.

 

I will cross post in the Lee thread.

My wife has on Ponder on Weather. He just said that upwelling from Franklin and Idalia’s remnants cooled the waters a bit where Lee will pass which will mitigate a bit some of its potential strengthening.

 

Idalia cooled the Gulf by roughly one degree Celsius, but it is warming up again


Idalia cooled the gulf. How long will it last? Idalia cooled the gulf. How long will it last? - Tampa Bay Times For more great content like this subscribe to the Tampa Bay

 

Was following that. Record setting. Scary

 

The footage from Acapulco is devastating. God Bless

 

Horrible