How to category 5 proof your home

[Dr. Jonah Rainwater]

houses on the water here in Boca are like 10 million. A house away from the beach range from $500K-$5 million. I can't afford either

If a hurricane hit Boca Raton, would the damages be twice as much as if an identical hurricane destroyed an equal amount of homes and property that was built in a city with half the land value of Boca Raton?

[Ixolib]

Last time I was over in Pensacola Beach the lots were going for a million.....MGC

yep the lots alone on Pensacola beach are in the millions not including the actual house! ridiculous if you ask me

1 Million to buy, 5 Million per year to rebuild

Yeah, and just loosing a pool enclosure on Pensacola Beach would cost the same to rebuild/repair as my entire home!!! And you know who's "really" paying for those opulent** lifestyles when a hurricane comes calling, right???

**Definitions of opulent on the Web:
deluxe: rich and superior in quality; a princely sum; gilded dining rooms

[gatorcane]

If a hurricane hit Boca Raton, would the damages be twice as much as if an identical hurricane destroyed an equal amount of homes and property that was built in a city with half the land value of Boca Raton?

Yes, absolutely. Hitting Boca Raton would be one of the worst places to hit in South Florida IMHO. Take the 1947 Hurricane that hit Boca Raton. If it hit today, it would cost hundreds of millions easily maybe even billions.

[HurricaneHunter914]

What should be on the gulf coast should not be closer then half mile from the coast line. The houses should be made out of steal inforced concrete...Which is 3 feet thick...The window should be a inch thick unbreakable glass.

I agree with you 110% but more like 3 inch thick glass.

[Jim Cantore]

Heres an easier way to solve everything

Dont build on the barrier islands

[vbhoutex]

Last time I was over in Pensacola Beach the lots were going for a million.....MGC

And I remember when you could get the lots for $25,000.00. Where was the money when I needed it?? My P's had a condo on the island in the early 70's. I'm not sure when they sold it, but I would guess they got a pretty penny for it!!!

[southerngale]

houses on the water here in Boca are like 10 million. A house away from the beach range from $500K-$5 million. I can't afford either

If a hurricane hit Boca Raton, would the damages be twice as much as if an identical hurricane destroyed an equal amount of homes and property that was built in a city with half the land value of Boca Raton?

Look at Wilma damages compared to Rita's. Rita completely destroyed several towns, yet Wilma's damage costs were a little higher. Look at the median home price in Florida where Wilma hit and compare that to SW La. and SE Tx. where Rita hit. Not even in the same ballpark! Then look where each of them tracked inland. SW La. and SE Tx. differ vastly from South Florida.

For example, median house values where Rita hit:
Cameron, La. $52,600
Lake Charles, La. $72,100
Vinton, La. $55,500
Port Arthur, Tx. $35,900
Port Neches, Tx. $79,600
Nederland, Tx. $68,200
Beaumont, Tx. $62,500
Orange, Tx. $53,300
Sabine Pass, Tx. $44,600
Lumberton, Tx. $94,500
Kirbyville, Tx $45,300
Jasper, Tx $60,800
Sour Lake, Tx. $48,400
I couldn't find Johnson's Bayou and Holly Beach, but I would assume they're similar to Cameron or Sabine Pass. (someone correct me if I'm wrong)

Compare that to places Wilma hit:
Marco Island, Fl. $291,100
Naples, Fl. $416,000
Everglades, Fl. $121,200
Coral Springs, Fl. $175,500
Pompano Beach, Fl. $135,700
Weston, Fl. $202,000
Miami, Fl. $120,100
Wellington, Fl. $164,800
Boca Raton, Fl. $230,200
Fort Lauderdale, Fl. $150,100
Plantation, Fl. $158,000
I'm sure there are more that are higher and lower, but I'm not as familiar with that area as I am here.


The median home price in Collier County, Fl. before Wilma was a whopping $466,000!
The median home price in Jefferson County, Tx before Rita was $80,480
and in Cameron Parish was $59,600.

Wow. Thanks for bringing this up. I didn't really realize how dramatically higher in value most places in South Florida were. I knew they were higher, just didn't realize this much. I guess it shows how much damage Rita really did when you consider how much cheaper most of the property is and Rita's damages were still about $10 billion while Wilma's were about $12 billion. Just wow.

[Ixolib]

houses on the water here in Boca are like 10 million. A house away from the beach range from $500K-$5 million. I can't afford either

If a hurricane hit Boca Raton, would the damages be twice as much as if an identical hurricane destroyed an equal amount of homes and property that was built in a city with half the land value of Boca Raton?

Look at Wilma damages compared to Rita's. Rita completely destroyed several towns, yet Wilma's damage costs were a little higher. Look at the median home price in Florida where Wilma hit and compare that to SW La. and SE Tx. where Rita hit. Not even in the same ballpark! Then look where each of them tracked inland. SW La. and SE Tx. differ vastly from South Florida.

For example, median house values where Rita hit:
Cameron, La. $52,600
Lake Charles, La. $72,100
Vinton, La. $55,500
Port Arthur, Tx. $35,900
Port Neches, Tx. $79,600
Nederland, Tx. $68,200
Beaumont, Tx. $62,500
Orange, Tx. $53,300
Sabine Pass, Tx. $44,600
Lumberton, Tx. $94,500
Kirbyville, Tx $45,300
Jasper, Tx $60,800
Sour Lake, Tx. $48,400
I couldn't find Johnson's Bayou and Holly Beach, but I would assume they're similar to Cameron or Sabine Pass. (someone correct me if I'm wrong)

Compare that to places Wilma hit:
Marco Island, Fl. $291,100
Naples, Fl. $416,000
Everglades, Fl. $121,200
Coral Springs, Fl. $175,500
Pompano Beach, Fl. $135,700
Weston, Fl. $202,000
Miami, Fl. $120,100
Wellington, Fl. $164,800
Boca Raton, Fl. $230,200
Fort Lauderdale, Fl. $150,100
Plantation, Fl. $158,000
I'm sure there are more that are higher and lower, but I'm not as familiar with that area as I am here.


The median home price in Collier County, Fl. before Wilma was a whopping $466,000!
The median home price in Jefferson County, Tx before Rita was $80,480
and in Cameron Parish was $59,600.

Wow. Thanks for bringing this up. I didn't really realize how dramatically higher in value most places in South Florida were. I knew they were higher, just didn't realize this much. I guess it shows how much damage Rita really did when you consider how much cheaper most of the property is and Rita's damages were still about $10 billion while Wilma's were about $12 billion. Just wow.

That IS AMAZING!!! And, when folks start raising heck about the increase in insurance premiums, all they gotta do is look to the FL coastline - and the cost of its real property - for the blame. Certainly, Rita's hit on LA/TX is a minimal contributor to the overall picture in terms of insurance payouts. Somehow, someway, somebody needs to get a hold on this issue. It just seems completely out of line for my (and other "regular" folks) insurance costs to be associated with the costs of insurance for homes that are in the 500K+ range.

As your post so well points out, a hurricane could destroy 10 houses in Port Arthur, resulting in the same $$ amount that it would cost to destroy ONE house in Naples, FL. That is just total, pure, and ridiculous BS!!

[Blown Away]

What should be on the gulf coast should not be closer then half mile from the coast line. The houses should be made out of steal inforced concrete...Which is 3 feet thick...The window should be a inch thick unbreakable glass.

The houses near the coast should be on stilts!!!!!!!!!

[gtalum]

He means Steel-reinforced concrete. Concrete, IIRC, does not rust.

Concrete does, however, react very badly with salt, and the steel inside will rust if the concrete is exposed to saltwater. You can overcome this, however, by using stainless steel in your steel reinforcement.

I have an idea to build my next house of poured concrete with a steel truss roof attached deep into the poured walls. Then there would be a poured concrete room with a steel door in the center of the home for a safe room.

[Scorpion]

I dont think its necessary. The chances of you experiencing strong enough winds(Cat 4/5) to take down a concrete home are one in a million.

[thunderchief]

well built steel reinforced structures will almost certianly survive the winds of any hurricane, and most tornados.

they will not survive the surge if they are right along the coast however

[brunota2003]

since we are on the subject, my local NWS office in Newport, which is about 12 miles from my house, actually has a "Storm Shelter" built into the office itself. check it out, I have been in the office and storm shelter and they use it as their break room, its concrete and has a steel door for them to shut, it is at the bottom, the header is Storm Shelter, read the whole thing on it: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/mhx/tour/behind.html

[Cookiely]

Make the homes mobile. When the hurricane is knocking pick up and leave.

[HurryKane]

The houses near the coast should be on stilts!!!!!!!!!

That didn't help a whole lot during Katrina.

[Jim Cantore]

The houses near the coast should be on stilts!!!!!!!!!

That didn't help a whole lot during Katrina.

I've seen pictures of stilts with no house on top of them

[HurricaneHunter914]

Heres an easier way to solve everything

Dont build on the barrier islands

Well that works too! But there already are homes.

[CentralFlGal]

"How to category 5 proof your home"

Pick it up and move it to South Dakota.

[Jim Cantore]

"How to category 5 proof your home"

Pick it up and move it to South Dakota.

exactly

you cant category 5 "proof" a home, you can just take measures so you come back to at least a wall still standing

[AussieMark]

bump