Hurricane Ian and its impact on Flordia's migration

[James Bond Agent 007]

"Hurricane Ian and it's impact on Florida's migration"

I fixed the title - its, not it's.

None of the other hurricanes had any discernable impact on migration to Florida. This won't either.

[TonyTone]

I remember back in the day when I lived in Florida, I was born and raised in Florida, I left Florida in 2009 for the Northeast with my Dad.

During my time in Florida I was in 2 hurricanes, The first being Katrina which caused a little damage for Florida, we all know the major damage was New Orleans.

My 2nd hurricane was Wilma. Boy oh boy did that storm cause some issues, we stayed in Fort Lauderdale, Lauderdale by the sea & wow did that storm do some damage for a mid cat 2 hurricane.

Power was out for a mouth
Water had to be boiled for baths
Telephone poles snapped in half down full blocks
Roofs were torn off form buildings
Windows were blown out
Gas was gone
Sand and water came inland
The Lauderdale Pier was gone

It was A crazy thing to experience and the cool front that came after it was unforgettable.

I will always remember Hurricane Wilma, its an experience you never forget, we are lucky we didn't flood out being so close to the beach.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by pj3000

Obviously don't want to see loss of life or people's homes.

But looking at this in a vacuum... if I was to pick an area of coastal Florida to be destroyed, Cape Coral area would be it. The disgusting, obliterative, and completely artificial over-development could all get washed away, and Florida would be better off as far as I am concerned.

I've never heard of Cape Coral before. What's wrong with it?

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by homebucket

I've never heard of Cape Coral before. What's wrong with it?

its an absolute monster development built in a low-lying (even for florida) flood plain massive chunk of plastic and stucco.

sadly, its the type of place thousands of midwestern retirees could afford. SW florida in general probably accounts for 1/8 of the population of Illinois (and metro St. Louis).

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by homebucket

I've never heard of Cape Coral before. What's wrong with it?

[James Bond Agent 007]

This house's life is undoubtedly short-lived:
https://www.google.com/maps/@26.5517...7i16384!8i8192

Pity whoever bought it and just moved in probably sometime in the spring.

[TWAK]

Originally Posted by homebucket

I've never heard of Cape Coral before. What's wrong with it?

It's a forum classic, like the walled city of Kowloon (for different reasons ).

[James Bond Agent 007]

And another one:
https://www.google.com/maps/@26.5501...7i16384!8i8192

And I bet this one, which was just starting ground clearing in February, probably just finished construction, like, a month ago, or something:
https://www.google.com/maps/@26.5579...7i16384!8i8192

And they all have those canals in their backyards.

Finally, I couldn't help myself from checking out the political views of the folks who live in that area. Yup, it's all Trump +20-40-something precincts. Oops. Too bad.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...ction-map.html

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by homebucket

I've never heard of Cape Coral before.

Just imagine if Venice and Plano had a baby.

[homebucket]

Interesting. Kinda reminds me of a massive version of Foster City.



https://www.travellens.co/best-thing...oster-city-ca/

[Yuri]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

Just imagine if Venice and Plano had a baby.

I haven't realised the are of Cape Coral covered by canals was so big. It's a tragic event, but it was clearly not an area that should have occupied at this scale.

[James Bond Agent 007]

I hope this thing gets destroyed in the hurricane:
https://www.google.com/maps/@26.5635...7i16384!8i8192

[TonyTone]

Originally Posted by James Bond Agent 007

I hope this thing gets destroyed in the hurricane:
https://www.google.com/maps/@26.5635...7i16384!8i8192

Good god, that looks like something out of twilight zone

"Suburban America's Twisted dream"

[Yuri]

All those place are soul-sucking. How people pour so much money to come up with stuff like this?

[UrbanImpact]

Originally Posted by James Bond Agent 007

I hope this thing gets destroyed in the hurricane:
https://www.google.com/maps/@26.5635...7i16384!8i8192

All that’s missing is the nutty red hat!

[PhillyRising]

It's going to be interesting to watch Gubner Meathead demand federal assistance....since he voted against Hurricane Sandy aid for the Northeast as a newly elected member of Congress in 2013.

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by Yuri

All those place are soul-sucking. How people pour so much money to come up with stuff like this?

Demand for it. I know, it sucks but Americans like it I suppose. The funny thing is that a place like Cape Coral is actually growing fast. Grew between 3-4% between 2019 and 2022. Fort Myers as well.

Retirees or folks seeking that Florida life.

Its a colossal waste of space. People also like the canals, the water.

Suburbs can be done right but I'm not a fan of the Florida style. If your going to do a suburb, do it like some of the ones in the Northeast with character. The Saddle River or Short Hills or Darien (CT) of the world.

Suburbs with character are great and there are many examples, but also many examples of terrible ones. One's that only dementia patients would appreciate, like Cape Coral.

Now I realize its a city but is it really? To me, its a giant suburb.

Some great urban planning to burn the eyes with:


Credit: https://www.florida-backroads-travel...l-florida.html

[galleyfox]

Originally Posted by Yuri

All those place are soul-sucking. How people pour so much money to come up with stuff like this?

Imagine growing up there. That was moi. (Also lived in Naples, Ft. Myers and St. Petersburg during my childhood)

A year before I convinced the last of my family members to leave and cash out at top dollar, and now Mother Nature strikes. Coincidence? I think not.

I knew by 2004 and 2005 when Florida was getting hit by hurricanes once a week, or so it felt, that the destiny of SW Florida was to be underwater someday. Everybody knows it.

[galleyfox]

Originally Posted by Yuri

I haven't realised the are of Cape Coral covered by canals was so big. It's a tragic event, but it was clearly not an area that should have occupied at this scale.

Most of the growth was probably the memory of Hurricane Donna (1960) fading away, and people forgetting what a SW FL hurricane can really do. And that was back when most Florida houses were still on stilts.

Everglades City used to be the county seat and most developed town in Collier County, until it was relocated to Naples after the city was obliterated by Donna.

Stories of survival and sorrow abound, including, “George Brainard, a beach merchant, [who] went to his store during the calm period as the eye of Donna passed through. He didn’t leave for safety in time. The eye passed on. The wind roared in on him and the Gulf seas broke all barriers. The body of George Brainard was found more than a mile from his home in the mangroves.” More stories of Donna’s damage were reported in local newspapers, and it was said that, “the Gulf sprinted across the marshlands, invaded his store and carried away three boats from [a] showroom. They still haven’t been found.” Byron Liles of Bonita Springs watched a storm surge of about 10 to 15 feet come across Hickory Boulevard. He said he watched as, “some homes were carried off their block bottoms, [and] swept into the mangroves.”

A woman said, “three feet of water went through my house, [and] wedged between the beds in one of my rooms was a huge tropical plant. I haven’t the slightest idea of how it got into my home.” An elderly couple’s trailer was found 150 yards away, across a bay on its back. The tidal water went in one window and out the other. “Enormous damage was found to be done in trees uprooted, blown down, many times across portions of buildings. There was no loss of life, and though streets are heavily cumbered with all kinds of litter there were very few instances of complete demolition of structures. It may be weeks before the debris is cleared away.”

https://www.weather.gov/media/tbw/pa...ricane1960.pdf

[The North One]

Florida gets kicked in the balls every other year by a hurricane yet people still live and move there. Don't see an impact other than the usual one.