Less than 10 days after Helene made landfall, Florida braces for another hurricane, potentially a Category 3
Less than 10 days after Helene made landfall, Florida braces for another hurricane, potentially a Category 3 | CNN
Saw an article yesterday interviewing a couple who says they’ll now have to rebuild their beachfront house for the third time, and that their second rebuild wasn’t even finished when Helene sent their house surfing down the street. That their insurance won’t cover it.
I’m flabbergasted that anyone would even consider rebuilding there. You’re lucky to even have insurance – most insurance companies have been fleeing the state.
Here’s a radical idea: don’t rebuild there. This is only going to get worse.
I built it all the same! Just to show em!
It sank into the swamp...
So, I built a second one! That sank into the swamp...
So I built a third one! That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp!
But the fourth one stayed up!
Same mentality...
Huston is one of the most populated cities in the US and it’s built on a swamp. Everyone acts super surprised when it floods semi-annually, like it’s some kind of tragedy as opposed to basic physics.
Next thing you know Arizona will start complaining that they’ve run out of water. I mean, yes? You’re in the desert. Your choices were to fix the climate, move, or die. Instead you’ve built a gigantic parking lot of a city.
There should be no aid whatsoever for natural disasters that strike predictably on a regular basis. Human beings aren’t dumb animals. We can communicate. Also Florida, Louisiana, and Texas literally voted for global warming. They got what they voted for so what is the issue?
Actions have consequences. We failed to act for a century. That’s how long we’ve known with absolute certainty that the climate was fucked. We put people on the moon, and we went to war with Iraq, but heaven forbid people stop eating meat, driving their precious cars, or taking pleasure cruises. Zero. Pity.
Or more to the point. If you have the money to build a beachfront house, why are you not building it to be virtually indestructible? Like one of those indestructible monolithic dome homes.
We can build concrete structures that will laugh at hurricanes. We can build them with their living areas raised well above the ground so water can simply flow underneath and around them. Sure, it's more expensive to build this way, but it can be done. And really, I would argue that if you can't afford to build such a home, you simply cannot afford to live right on the beach.
I always wonder what's going on in the heads of Americans when they go to an area notorious for being hit by hurricanes or tornadoes and then decide they should build their house out of basically toothpicks with some plaster. Here in Switzerland, pretty much everything except for maybe a garden shed is poured concrete, and I guarantee that if the folks in Florida or Oklahoma did the same the "devastation" would be comparatively tiny.
I used to live in Charleston SC and my boss owned a beach home on Folly Beach - one of two houses there that survived Hurricane Hugo in 1989. It survived because it was elevated on massive concrete pilings that extended 60' down to bedrock. When it was built in the 1970s it was two streets back from the beach; after Hugo it was beachfront property.
My dumbass boss (a Rush Limbaugh fan, no surprise) had it torn down despite its being in perfect condition because it was too small (it was "just" a two-bedroom, two-bathroom, one-story layout). He built a much larger, conventional foundation house on the lot, which was apparently badly damaged by Hurricane Matthew in 2016, although it apparently survived and has been repaired. Just a matter of time ...
I was just driving around the beaches of Pinellas County (Tampa Bay area) today. Entire neighborhoods are destroyed. Beach front condos, restaurants and stores, also destroyed. In many areas, anything ground level got flooded/wrecked by storm surge. I saw several boats in places there are not supposed to be boats.
If Tampa Bay takes a direct hit right now it's going to be really fuckin bad for a lot of people.
What's also scary is that right now everyone has been piling up debris, ruined appliances and all manor of belongings outside for disposal. Piles ten feet high along every street. All this shit is about to be flying around in hurricane force winds and storm surge. Is a recipe for disaster.
That's terrifying... I hope you and your family are able to get somewhere safe for the time being
They also had sunk all their savings into that rebuild. How do you think about trying a third time when you have nothing to even work with?
Yeah, I don’t get it, except the couple I saw (maybe you saw the same interview, there seem to be several of these) acted like this is just a bad year for weather and they ‘don’t want to think’ about climate change. They at least seem the type who don’t think it’s real.
I feel for rescue units who can’t leave, and who will likely be rescuing these stubborn cunts when the next massive storm of the year hits them.
Get more people to donate to your GoFundMe campaign, I guess?
I don’t know if this is the case for that couple, but a lot of insurance requires that you rebuild on the same location. We need to change laws so that this isn’t the case anymore. It is a massive problem.
I mean, you can probably build a house that can reliably survive the conditions there. It's just gonna be really expensive and may not look all that pretty.
It's gonna have to handle water up to a certain height and wind-blown debris smashing into it.
Like, think of a lighthouse or flak tower or something.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lighthouse
Sometimes a lighthouse needs to be constructed in the water itself. Wave-washed lighthouses are masonry structures constructed to withstand water impact, such as Eddystone Lighthouse in Britain and the St. George Reef Light of California. In shallower bays, Screw-pile lighthouse ironwork structures are screwed into the seabed and a low wooden structure is placed above the open framework, such as Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse. As screw piles can be disrupted by ice, steel caisson lighthouses such as Orient Point Light are used in cold climates. Orient Long Beach Bar Light (Bug Light) is a blend of a screw pile light that was converted to a caisson light because of the threat of ice damage. Skeletal iron towers with screw-pile foundations were built on the Florida Reef along the Florida Keys, beginning with the Carysfort Reef Light in 1852.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flak_tower
With concrete walls up to 3.5 m (11 ft) thick, their designers considered the towers to be invulnerable to attack by the standard ordnance carried by RAF heavy bombers at the time of their construction.
The Soviets, in their assault on Berlin, found it difficult to inflict significant damage on the flak towers, even with some of the largest Soviet guns, such as the 203 mm M1931 howitzers.
After the war, the demolition of the towers was often considered not feasible and many remain to this day, with some having been converted for alternative use.
Good point, thanks!
I know some people from Clearwater and I think they’d just say “this is our community and our home”. It doesn’t make logical sense, but I’d say a lot about the town a person decides to live in is emotional over practical (unless you move somewhere for a job).
Well it might be where you live but there ain't gonna be any home or community there much longer
At least don't fucking rebuild it the same way, with the same materials, as the last half dozen times.
Sink some footings down deep, cast the walls out of concrete (you can still put fancy shit up on the concrete to make it look nice, but the concrete will be a fuckton stronger against wind/water/etc)
They are morons and refuse to do the smart thing no matter how much it costs the government and insurance company.
It's not climate change. There is no mention of climate change anywhere in Florida law.
It was a pleasant surprise to hear the Meterologist on the video in that article specifically explain warming oceans from carbon are causing the increased frequency/intensity.
"Fake news." - MAGA
It's also the hotter atmosphere being able to hold more water and energy potential. That's why Helene was able to drag so much water into the Appalachian Mountains.
Well fortunately most of Florida is about 3 feet above sea level, so this is a problem that will fix itself before long.
Too long, unfortunately.
as if you didn't have enough reasons to get the fuck out of florida already. leaving that shithole state was the best thing i've ever done, not just for my mental health, but apparently physical safety also
My moving date was literally scheduled for this upcoming Friday… I pick up the u-haul on Tuesday, and my lease in Colorado starts on Tuesday of next week. This thing is trying to keep me here in hell.
Originally they thought that Helene would be a cat 3, too.
But the Democrats aim with the Hurricane machine proclaimed by MTG is getting better. Maybe the third try actually turns Mar-a-Lago into a pile of rubble.
I'm on the team running the weather machine this time. We are very excited for this run!
After gathering so much data from the last several storms, we finally have the power to call hurricanes and tornadoes exactly where we want them to go!
We'll be feasting on the fetuses Boden personally hands us after this run, fellas!
Just gotta concentrate a bunch of gays in one place, and the hurricanes follow. It's science!
I just put 3,000 Soros bucks into the Jade Helmet system with instructions to level the homes of any florida lemmygrad commenters in this post. You’re doing “there is no god”’s work, friend.
Great, you just gave maga all the fully verified truth they need to confirm their insanity....
But then we would have to charge the hurricane with destruction of evidence.
Top Secret papers all over Florida!
Shit, it’s headed right for where I live.
Username related. Don’t wait until the last minute.
I know this isn't a great thing to say due to housing costs, but I think you really need to find a different place to live than a boat because hurricanes are only going to get worse.
As I understand it, mangrove swamps are a great place to ride out storms in a boat. They naturally reduce waves, and should help cut down on some of the wind. There’s a whole demonstration of how they work in the Keys. Can’t remember where I saw it.
Obviously it would be better to not be in the path of the storm, but if you have to be, there are much worse places than around mangroves.
I'm pretty sure they know what they're doing better than you. I imagine the mangroves will protect them fairly well from damage, and as long as they have power and their bilge pump is working they shouldn't sink. The water is probably pretty shallow anyway, so that might not even be possible.
FWIW, The Weather Channel says something slightly different:
Most of the new computer guidance suggests that a Category 3 hurricane will develop, though some models have a stronger storm than this. Residents should prepare as if a Category 4 or 5 hurricane is anticipated.
Oof
Well it's now already a category 4 hurricane so this was quickly outdated.
At the time you posted this they were actually upgrading it to a category 5. It's the fastest developing storm in recorded history.
Yup:
Data from NOAA and Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that the maximum sustained winds have increased to near 155 mph (250 km/h) with higher gusts. Milton is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Milton is forecast to become a category 5 hurricane later today and become a large hurricane over the eastern Gulf of Mexico
Source: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT4+shtml/071453.shtml
Maybe if they stopped voting for fucking Republicans and start fixing the climate they wouldn't be all kinds of fucked as climate change causes insurance companies to say fuck these southern states.
Im from Florida and it's so frustrating that we are always just 1 or 2 percent away from voting out these morons but we all have to suffer because the old people vote their shriveled asses off.
Yeah, it seems like the only reasonable (in their mind) explanations should be it's either climate change or the wrath of God. Either way, it should indicate they need to do something different.
Are you saying Democrats aren't being lobbied?
Climate change is a removed, huh, Republicans who've spent thirty years denying it? (My heart goes out to all the people in the southeast who actually didn't spend decades denying its existence and hampering efforts to slow it.)
Please do not pretend climate change is any one groups responsibility.
Wow that GOP rep that said democrats created the hurricane is going to have to start working overtime to sell the argument again. At some point the people in the red states must start to wonder why it’s so coincidental that the predictions from the left (science) keep coming true.
You presume that that information reaches them and that they're willing to consider it.
Even if the info doesn’t reach them, looks like the hurricane will.
Well, at least their aim is much closer to Mar-a-Lago this time. Maybe the next major hurricane gets the direction right, and then the Democrats will dial it up to a cat5 or better! /s
Or they'll march on the capital again and demand the weather machine controls.
If we make this ILLEGAL to Talk about then we'll be Fine!
Don’t look up… or out, in this case!
Maybe if all those sinful woke communist homosexuals would leave Florida, God wouldn't have to keep sending hurricanes to punish all the good God-fearing patriots for tolerating their iniquities! /s
Mother Nature is speedbaggin' North America's penis.
Bet it's gonna be a 4 because of how hot the water is.
Its cat 5 now
Oh wow it was literally just a cat 4 like a couple hour ago.
So this is now one of the fastest developing storms ever now and it hasn't even gotten moving. And halved the time needed for "rapid development" as a tag.
We are gonna need some new terms for these mega hurricanes.
Someone needs to upgrade it's cable runs, it's throughput is being limited.
this is so scary for everyone in the path. I hope the president calls a special session so they can get more relief funding.
And the ground is still saturated from Helene, so it's not going to be absorbing much of the water. The flooding will be far worse than a cat 5 on dry ground.
tis the season
Is it though? I thought this was normally a late August or early September thing
mother nature and father time seldom keep to human schedules
Historically, storms that start with the letter M average start date is around Oct. 24, so Milton is earlier than expected based on previous data. Hurricane season used to end in November, but we seem to be approaching conducive conditions year round.
I used to live in South GA and we got hit my Cat3 hurricane Michael exactly 6 years ago this Thursday
Maybe one a month in the next few years, MAGA drill baby drill!!!!
Gotta protect those gas stoves, oversized pickups, generally fucking everything up out of anger, and fighting culture wars instead of the class war keeping us all in the gutter.
Hurricanes track:
Those damn democrats and their weather control devices are trying tontake out Trump.
/s
This is coming straight for me. FML
Stay safe.
So, to take a page from their book....their God must be hella mad at them for the decisions they made and actions they have taken.........OR, tHe LibZ ConTrOL thE WeaThEr!
We may never know.
Well shit. I'll have to put up the shutters 1 week after taking them down.
My poor garden. All I can think of is all the fruit and veggies that are gonna get blown away
It’s a cycle, as republicans are fond of saying. I mean… this was all sea floor once.
That's a good question. We do, now. But most of us can't buy a new house, so we live in an older house. We don't have a stone quarry anywhere nearby, so no tradition of stone houses, more frame houses because it's hot and there wasn't air conditioning so we built ventilated lighter houses that were cooler in the summer, there are still a lot of them around.
Yes, home hardening is one factor and even here in Florida, the building codes have been updated and the state provides matching funds for making improvements to existing houses (you apply, it can take some years to get to the front of the line) we got storm windows this way, and we got a strong metal roof when we needed to replace the roof covering. It just takes a really long time to change out or update the stock of houses.
And also, even though it seems like houses are getting knocked down every 5 minutes, there are still houses in Tampa built around 1900, it's not that common in most cities. I was born here, am over 50 and haven't even had to evacuate yet, assume it's coming eventually but is not a frequent event here. Last direct hit around 1925.
People are so flippant about "just move" but I was born here, have seen the city get better, love it, have a good job, most of our kids still live nearby, its really expensive to move anywhere and pretty nice here most of the time still, and as a climatologist told my kid when they asked, probably will be ok through their lifetime.
Stone houses? Are you thinking of castles?
In Europe most houses are made of brick and/or concrete, no need for a quarry anywhere nearby.
Also, the heavier the house the better it does when it's hot. In hot places of Europe, traditional houses had very thick walls, small windows and are painted bright colors to reflect light (and heat).
Be skeptical:
Without adaptation strategies, the following conditions will likely incur substantial social and economic costs:
Might be worth it to get a second climatologist opinion.
There's tabby, but it holds heat.
Trump's campaign includes making homes less sturdy so we can have a larger supply 🙃
Worked great for his buddy Erdogan.
Tbf Kamala is also campaigning on "more houses" and not "affordable quality houses"
even cheapo plywood and cardboard houses cost a fortune so construction companies don't build with stronger materials because no one would buy the house. that's my armchair opinion at least.
Funny, though, that cheap sticks and cardboard houses like they are common in the US are a rarity here in Europe. Reinforced concrete basements are the norm here, and the rest of any halfway modern house (from the last 80+ years) is brick and mortar. My house has 30cm walls made from concrete blocks, and this is no outlier.
You answered your own question lol. Your "sturdy houses" would also get fucking wrecked by a hurricane or tornado or earthquake or wildfire. We expect our buildings to get destroyed every so often.
Relative to the cardboard houses in the usa, houses in Europe are indeed very sturdy. Our concrete houses might not be designed for hurricanes, but they would still fare way better than a house entirely build from stud walls. It's always a bit of a wonder to us that in the usa, houses are being built in a manner that will not survive the next storm. And that that is allowed. The downside of the sturdier European houses is that they take longer and cost more to build, which is also why the average house is smaller.
Here's some obversations from an American engineer travelling in Europe: https://forstconsultingllc.com/blog/european-vs-american-home-construction/
Yet
Apparently, they can use the practice.