Despite a growing barrage of storms and floods, and especially in th💖e wake of two hurricanes, Florida is doubling down on building in♏ disaster-prone areas.
Between 2019 and 2023, the Sunshine State saw a whopping 77,000 new buildings go up🧜 in 🐎areas most vulnerable to flooding, leading the nation in risky development.
And Florida isn’t alone in playing this game — Texas and California are also piling on, with 63,000 and 21,000 properties, respectively, being 💞built in high-risk flood zones during that same period.
Across the US, nearly 300,000 buildings have popped up in harm’s way, accounting for 20% of all new construction over four years, according to data from First Street reported by .
It’s not just nature taking aim. People are flocking to statꦛes where floods and fires run rampant.
From 2010 to 2020, the population in the West and South surged by over 9 and 10 percent, respective𝄹ly, according𝓡 to AM Best, outpacing the national growth rate.
But there’s a massive💞 problem: insurers aren’t💧 sticking around to cover the damage.
As premiums skyrocket and companies retreat from high-risk markets, homeowners are scrambling for co🐻verage, while developers 🗹and insurers are caught in a brutal standoff.
“The lenders need to play a role,” said Robert Gordon of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association to the outlet. While insurance companies can hike rates yearly, Gordon pointed out that lenders are stuck with long꧃-term deals.
“The lenders … are really in the best position to make sure there’s the rig༒ht consideration of the long-term risk,” he added. “A lot of times that’s not happening.”
Develoꦫpers, of course, insist they’ve considered th💃e risks, and stricter building codes are supposedly helping to limit damage.
But the reality on the grou෴nd tells a different story, with storms and disasters continuing to rack up staggering costs.
Hurricanes Milton and Helene alone left $50 billion in dest✤ruction.
Andrew Siffert, a meteorologist with insurance firm BMS Group, put it bluntly: “We build in some of the 💫most silly places, knowing what could happen.”🐼
