Old Florida using new tactics to rebuild

AccuWeather

One community along Florida's Gulf Coast is 'raising the roof' as they rebuild to become more hurricane resilient. AccuWeather's Leslie Hudson has the details.

Transcript

00:00One community along Florida's Gulf Coast is raising the roofs literally as they rebuild to become more hurricane resilient.

00:07Accuilla's Leslie Hudson has the details.

00:11To lift that, because you can see they're digging around.

00:16For some, life after a hurricane means building higher in the hopes their dream home will survive another hurricane season.

00:24You can see a lot of work is being done in this neighborhood, and really all aspects of recovery.

00:30You can see on these two streets.

00:32Built in the 1950s, the Tradewinds community was one of the first developments on Sanibel Island.

00:38This community has weathered many major hurricanes, from Charlie to Ian and last year Helene and then Milton.

00:45After a series of back-to-back hurricanes, they become more creative and resilient,

00:50either putting their homes 10 feet up on stilts or demolishing and having to start over in the hopes of keeping their homes intact.

00:57When Helene and Milton hit, it really skyrocketed.

01:02We had a ton of business.

01:04I think right now we've got about 120 jobs in permitting.

01:06Though the demand is high, raising the roof is also expensive.

01:11At about $120 a square foot, a home this size can cost anywhere from $150,000 to $200,000 to raise 10 feet.

01:21You know, where you have over 10 feet of storm surge coming through a neighborhood, upwards of 13 and 15 feet in some places,

01:29there's no way to get away from that other than to be above that water.

01:33City officials say this community is just one slice of old Florida that is committed to rebuilding after a series of consecutive hurricanes.

01:41And will hopefully help people in the future.

01:43Investing not only in their homes, but in the island life that this part of southwest Florida is known for.

01:50On Sanibel Island, I'm Leslie Hudson reporting.

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