Flood predictions, Michael housing & counseling
Two new reports outline the increasing potential damage and loss in value to Florida real estate from future flooding events. Meanwhile, 500 families are still without permanent housing 15 months after Hurricane Michael, and FEMA extends crisis counseling help to Panhandle residents impacted from the Cat-5 storm. It’s all in this week’s Disaster Management Digest.
Ft. Lauderdale tidal flooding, September 2015. Courtesy, Paul Krashefski/Broward County
Sea Rise Impact: A new report by the McKinsey Global Institute factors flooding from rising sea levels around Florida, erosion, and rainfall into a picture of future economic risk to the Sunshine State. The report projects annual losses to residential real estate from hurricane storm surge to $3 billion to $4.5 billion by the year 2050 from their current $2 billion today.
“Rough estimates suggest that this in turn could impact property tax revenue in some of the most affected counties in South Florida by 15% to 30% percent (though impacts across the state could be less, up to 2% to 5%),” according to the report, which is based on past trends.
Another study from Jupiter Intelligence predicts that by 2050, annual flood damage in Miami-Dade County is expected to roughly double, leading to shortages in affordable insurance coverage and real estate market instability.
A couple prepares to occupy a FEMA travel trailer in Marianna, FL., February 2019. Courtesy Robert Kaufmann/FEMA
Hurricane Michael Housing: FEMA, along with state and local officials and nonprofit organizations, continues to work with hundreds of residents displaced from their homes after Hurricane Michael. FEMA is currently providing temporary housing units for about 500 families. FEMA and its partners have helped more than 400 families achieve a more permanent housing solution in the 15 months since the Category 5 hurricane struck Florida’s Panhandle.
FEMA’s Direct Housing program ends April 11. After that, FEMA will collect monthly rent and possible fees if occupants continue to live in their FEMA-provided temporary housing units. It’s offering to sell some of its temporary housing trailers to displaced residents as part of that permanent solution.
Crisis Counseling Extended: Disasters such as hurricanes take both a physical and mental toll. The state has secured an additional $690,000 from FEMA to extend Hurricane Michael crisis counseling services in Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson and Washington counties. This funding represents a 90-day extension and provides additional resources in these counties through the end of the school year.
To date, the program has provided more than 7,800 individual counseling sessions, more than 27,200 group counseling sessions, and more than 88,500 support contacts to hurricane survivors throughout the impacted counties.
Emergency Management Day: The Florida Department of Emergency Management is hosting the first annual Emergency Management Day at the Florida Capitol this Wednesday, January 29. This is a great opportunity to stop by and learn more about emergency management in Florida.
LMA Newsletter of 1-27-20
