Putting Ian’s Lessons into Action

Florida has been here before, and we will be here again.

Hurricane Ian is the costliest storm to hit Florida, so far. That’s what the initial assessments are telling us, as communities begin the daunting task of recovery. But, it’s not too soon to consider what lessons Ian has to teach us and to put these lessons into action.

Thirty years ago, Hurricane Andrew claimed the title of Florida’s costliest storm, decimating Homestead and surrounding communities in southeast Florida. Devastation was so complete that even two years later 30 percent of the damaged buildings remained to be repaired or demolished. Many residents left and never returned. Homestead’s eventual recovery inspires confidence that the hardest-hit communities in southwest Florida will come back, but there will be changes.

Andrew taught us about wind damage. Andrew was a category 5 storm with sustained winds exceeding 160 miles per hour. The pattern of damage revealed the efficacy of stringent building standards. Neighborhoods full of houses seemingly untouched stood next to areas in which wind had obliterated every building. Andrew’s lessons led to the adoption of stronger building codes, a change that has reduced the damages suffered from every storm since, including Ian.

Ian has taught us about the implacable destructive force of storm surge. Buildings strong enough to survive Ian’s winds were simply floated up and swept away by the storm surge. Many buildings that survived the flood were destroyed by being completely inundated by salt water up to the level of the second floor and battered by waves rolling in from the Gulf of Mexico.

In contrast, the storm surge from Andrew, which was similar to Ian’s surge at about 12 feet, resulted in relatively little damage to buildings in and around Homestead. Ten years before Andrew, Miami-Dade County had enacted stringent restrictions against development in the low-lying coastal zone. Therefore, areas of dense, urban development were out of reach of Andrew’s storm surge. Restricting development from low-lying coastal areas protects against the destructive force of storm surge.

In the last 30 years, we have also learned about the threat posed by rising sea level, something we are reminded of each year in the fall when King Tides flood the streets in coastal communities. Looking ahead to the 30th anniversary of Hurricane Ian, sea level could be more that one foot higher than today, according to scenarios developed especially for the south Florida region. This would leave a large portion of the communities hardest hit by Ian regularly inundated by tides and unlivable.

Now is the time to act. At the very least, the Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners must hold the line against proposals to relaxing its restrictions on urban development in the low-lying coastal zone that have been in place since 1982. Communities in southwest Florida and elsewhere should follow this example to assure that their revitalized communities are protected from storm surge and rising sea level.