No place in FL is safe from Hurricane Damage....the state is only 100 miles wide.
Florida living
- Thread starter Scuba
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No place in FL is safe from Hurricane Damage....the state is only 100 miles wide.
JoeWras
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Ask me about being 150 miles inland (Fran 1996). Or ask anyone living in Charlotte, NC about that same 150 miles (Hugo 1989).
It was bad, real bad. We are not safe. I'm surprised my insurance rates are not higher. They probably should be.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Hugo
Cayman
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Yes all areas are at risk. One may mitigate storm damage risk by living away from the coastal evacuation zones Scuba referred to. There are no storm surges inland. Hurricane surges are incredibly destructive - look at Ft. Myers Beach. The surge pulverized the buildings. Winds also lessen in strength when they hit and move over land (albeit only somewhat depending on the storm). Insurance rates are typically lower inland because hurricane damage risk is lower than on the coast.
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Exactly. I know nowhere is 100% safe. Even Palm Springs, CA had a hurricane this year!
Having lived through several hurricanes and done volunteer hurricane relief work after Katrina, Irma and Maria, our primary concern is storm surge. Not to say that wind and downed trees and power lines don’t cause any problems, but storm surge is far worse. Everything in the house is pretty much ruined with a significant storm surge.
We selected an area that’s 22-23 miles from the beach, not super close to any rivers or inland bodies of water other than neighborhood retention ponds, and also has underground utilities. And we bought a concrete block home constructed in the last 5 years so it’s up to current hurricane building codes. I think we’ve taken reasonable precautions and now we will just have to hope that it’s enough. We are also buying homeowners insurance in case it’s not.
Cayman
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Well thought out. You'll love LR and Sarasota. So much to do, great healthcare and when you want to see those waves Longboat and 360 beach are a just a short drive away. Enjoy!
Thank you! We love all the beaches from Anna Maria Island down to Manasota Key. Our favorite beaches in FL are not too far from our new home.
Koolau
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I know Florida is not rectangular, but Wikipedia says its dimensions are
Length 447 mi, width 361 mi. I would say most folks LIVE within 100 miles of the ocean/gulf. Also, the average elevation is 100 ft. Not a good combo for living through a hurricane.
I feel blessed that Hawaii has had fewer hurricanes than Florida. We've certainly had some close calls (and the occasional hit.) Arguably, the last hurricane (which never made landfall) accentuated the fires in Lahina, Maui.
Of course, I've shared previously that we had a tornado go through our front yard one year and our back yard the next when we lived in the Midwest. I've also mentioned that hurricane insurance in the Islands is somewhat of a joke. You can buy into a pool. If damage is light, Islands wide, you might come out okay. If it's heavy, you would only receive a fraction. But, premiums are low and it's available.
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I think the map at page 7 of this report is a good illustration to accompany your post https://floridadep.gov/sites/defaul...rt_of_Regional_Differences_within_Florida.pdf
Great report, thanks for sharing. Looks like Lakewood Ranch is pretty safe from hurricanes, consistent with the FEMA and hurricane evacuation zones we researched before buying.
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For South Florida, going East to West (say, Fort Lauderdale to Naples) the journey is only about 110 miles. Millions of folks below lake Okeechobee, mostly within 20 miles of the coast. And almost all of those well below 20 feet elevation.
But storm surge is only a real impact for those in the first mile from the beach, if that. For the rest of us flooding risk is from clogged storm drains, overflow from lakes and canals, that can make things messy. The bigger risk after storm surge is windstorm.
Koolau
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
If I lived in Florida, I think I'd make that report mandatory reading within my household. It would even help with choosing a bug-out location. That puppy is through. I hope it saves lives.
We have something similar though I've never seen one quite so detailed. Of course, up most of our valleys, you don't need to go far before getting out of storm surge reach. Same for most Tsunami's (heh, heh, or so they say!)
There was a story of a couple who recently bought a house near the ocean. They went for a building permit to redo the kitchen or some such. They were told that they would not be issued a permit because their house was in and inundation zone. Only remedy? Jack up the house a few feet and build support underneath - so that is what they did. I'm not sure if they made it a car port or just did the minimum with no useful space underneath. Coastal living is not for sissies.
