After Hurricane Ian, a low-lying Florida city starts to rebuild. Should it?
A year after Hurricane Katrina, it’s time for another hurricane. When Hurricane Ian struck Florida’s panhandle, it made landfall on Wednesday, September 1, 2008, with winds of 130 mph. The storm has since dissipated, but it left behind a significant amount of destruction, damage not limited to the cities directly affected or impacted by the storm.
Hurricane Ian is the strongest storm to hit the area in half a decade, according to local police. It is also the second-highest strength storm to hit Florida in the last 60 years.
After Hurricane Andrew, the storm was so strong that it pushed a massive palm tree into a school building, causing a fire. Another large tree crashed into the roof of a medical center when it struck the roof of a hospital in Miami, causing $1 million in damage.
The current storm, known locally as Hurricane Ian, is predicted to hit the area on Friday, September 14. It is the strongest storm to hit the area in nearly a decade.
Areas hit by hurricanes after Sandy also suffered significant damage. For instance, on August 29, a home in St. Martin Parish broke completely in half and burned down after floodwaters poured into the home. A home in St. Martin was also completely destroyed in Hurricane Michael, which struck Miami, Florida, in October of last year.
The city of St. Martin, the surrounding area and the parish were still recovering from Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
Areas hit by hurricanes after Ivan also suffered significant damage. These homes were in Louisiana, Arkansas and Louisiana, were badly damaged in Hurricane Rita in 2005, and were seriously damaged in Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and 2007.
The area affected by Hurricane Ivan was not nearly the same as that hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 — it was completely different from the area affected by Tropical Storm Gustav in 1999.
The Florida Keys, unlike Florida, experienced nothing near a hurricane or tropical storm. The
