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Comment by giantg2 | Hacker News Reader

If people focused on functional/survivable structures, then it wouldn't be an issue. Initial construction might be 1.5x-2x the cost, but it'd be better than rebuilding every couple decades. But I guess they wouldn't be as pretty as they'd want.

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Miami has the sturdiest residential construction materials of any city I have lived in. Cinderblock is extremely common.

It still doesn't save your home if you build at 5ft above sea level and a hurricane brings 15ft of storm surge.

All new construction in Sanibel, FL (which got hit hard by Ian) is required to have one floor of "sacrificial space" above which finished living structure can be built. In most homes this is a garage or above-ground storage room with no drywall, and all electrical connections at least several feet off the floor. This doesn't make storm surge cost-free and we have yet to see whether it was enough for Ian, but I doubt the storm surge reached more than 6ft.

It was way more than 6ft at Fort Myers Beach which is the same area as Sanibel: https://v.redd.it/l0w7syf7zvq91

it was 8-9ft in that area I think

I run a tugboat company. We are moving a barge and equipment to Sanibel Island right now. We expect months of work removing debris to the mainland and moving construction equipment to the island. The system is working as designed.

Of course it will still be a mess. Most of the pictures I've seen on the news have been stickbuilts that are completely trashed.

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