The damage caused by Hurricane Milton, the latest major hurricane to strike Florida, raises a very basic question: Is Florida no longer safe or affordable for human habitation? That may sound a bit extreme, but the reality is that extreme weather has moved from the realm of a rare occurrence to the norm in Florida.
Significant hurricanes have been a way of life in Florida forever, but the intensity, severity, and frequency of these catastrophic weather events have been increasing over the past few years thanks to the startling rise in both ocean and air temperatures because of climate change. Warm water is the jet fuel for hurricane development and Milton was a perfect example of that interaction. Milton originated in the Gulf of Mexico, just off the Yucatan peninsula, and intensified from a Category 1 hurricane to a Category 5 within 24 hours, the fastest-ever hurricane to do so.
Not only did Milton spawn tornadoes across Florida even before it made landfall that resulted in death and destruction far from where it came ashore, but it also caused record flooding in the middle of the state which still has yet to fully recede. There are areas in Florida where those who bought their homes only a few years ago are unable to sell them, even at steep discounts, in the aftermath of the hurricanes of the past few years.
Even for those whose homes have been relatively untouched by the catastrophic weather, the cost of home insurance has skyrocketed. The Wall St. Journal reports that home insurance rates in Florida are twice the national average and auto insurance is more than 50% above the national average. There is no doubt that as hurricanes continue to pound the peninsula, these costs will continue to rise exponentially, effectively making living there unaffordable for many Floridians, especially for senior citizens who are on fixed incomes.
The possibility of losing everything — your home, your cars, and all of your belongings — has made many question whether Florida is a desirable place to live, especially in one’s so-called golden years. You may escape the worst effects of a hurricane for five or 10 years, but all it takes is one occurrence to lose everything you have.
We have written previously that there is no place on the planet where we are safe from climate change — the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene in serene western North Carolina, hundreds of miles from the ocean, being the most recent example — but Florida has become the proverbial canary in the coal mine, the forewarning of much-worse times to come.
The trifecta of wind damage, flooding, and the high cost of living have turned the Sunshine State into the State of Danger & Despair — and with climate change bringing ever-higher ocean and air temperatures with no end in sight, the future promises to be truly apocalyptic.
Living in Florida these days is like playing Russian Roulette, with Mother Nature in the role of the house.
And as we all know, the house always wins.