How do people in Miami deal with Hurricane season? (insurance, buying a house)

[mt971x]

I mean, if I were to buy a house there, how would I protect myself?

I thought about buying a house out in south beach (money not being an issue)

but than I wonder of course if a hurricane will knock it down, or cause extreme damage to it.

I know Miami hasn't had a big one.....yet.. but i'm sure one will eventually happen

how do residents choose to live there knowing they are in a area targeted for hurricanes? is it as bad as they say?

I hear each year is a toss up, and you never know what you are going to expect, do people seriously just not care about the damage like Katrina it can do to the city?

How does the city protect itself from this?

[cixcell]

anything new you pretty much wont have to worry about because the building codes are much better than they were when hurricane andrew obliterated homestead.
its kind of an evolution of building materials. every time a hurricane does damage, they change codes or fix what was damaged with something stronger so that each time it happens the damage is less.
its not a full out gamble like living in tornado alley. its a calculated risk. you can plan and build for hurricanes, with tornados youre just screwed. (the wind speeds of tornados are so high that youd basically have to build all houses like war bunkers)

[Chelito23]

I agree. If you live in tornado ally, you can't really do anything because an F5 will blow a house away, off the foundation if it is a bad one. Look at poor Joplin, MO. You can design and prepare a home for a hurricane...a tornado, not so much. So I guess people aren't scared or worried about it that much. Plus, most important buildings and homes are made out of concrete here...

[mt971x]

I'd really like Miami, but to live there I mean , this coming from a person that doesn't live there yet. What do you do each year for hurricane season?

Is hurricane season just july and august mostly?

I just wouldn't want to move there, buy a very nice house, and than something like this happens

[cixcell]

Originally Posted by mt971x

I just wouldn't want to move there, buy a very nice house, and than something like this happens

thats alot of wood and thats exactly what the problem was.

everything you see there plus an orca is now embedded in that hill that is the south dade landfill. (mt trashmore)

everything is concrete now

you can only andrew or katrina a place once.

[the-writer-guy]

Many new homes are built to withstand a hurricane. But you will need a lot of food and water to be kept on hand (supplies) in case one comes. You will also need insurance. I highly recomend a gun or more than one, for any looters. Other than that life is normal, have a good time in south beach. Also keep in mind, that hurricanes go up and down the coast, so while there could be a hurricane in florida the chances of it striking south beach are a bit smaller.

[TheHurricaneKid]

How do people in Miami deal with Hurricane season?

People like me get excited. My home is built pre-Andrew, so every hurricane season we have a chance at the big one. I have always wanted to see the downfall of my neighborhood ever since I realized I hate Miami, so yea.

[FlyMIA]

Originally Posted by mt971x

I mean, if I were to buy a house there, how would I protect myself?
Insurance, hurricane shutters.
I thought about buying a house out in south beach (money not being an issue)

but than I wonder of course if a hurricane will knock it down, or cause extreme damage to it.
It is possible but not likely.
I know Miami hasn't had a big one.....yet.. but i'm sure one will eventually happen
It did in 1926 and it was hit by a big one only 30miles south in 1992
how do residents choose to live there knowing they are in a area targeted for hurricanes? is it as bad as they say?
How do people live in LA or San Francisco, how do people live in Saint Louis or Dallas knowing Tornadoes can go there. How do people live in Chicago knowing there could be a massive blizzard or flood, or tornado one day. How do people live near Yellowstone knowing there could be a massive volcano any day or Honolulu with Tsunamis or anywhere from Florida to Massachusetts with Hurricanes. Natural disasters happen everywhere. It is not as bad as people think and hurricanes are not that bad either. They are not very deadly only what about 44 people died in hurricane Andrew. What kills in hurricanes are areas which are prone to Flooding like New Orleans, people who do not evacuate from Flood zones, like New Orleans and cities which are really not prepared for a storm like New Orleans.
I hear each year is a toss up, and you never know what you are going to expect, do people seriously just not care about the damage like Katrina it can do to the city?
If Katrina hit Miami it would have been news for 3 weeks and about it. Katrina was not a very powerful storm when it hit. What did the damage was the floods because the levees broke and New Orleans is in the worst possible location for floods. Miami does not flood like that.
How does the city protect itself from this?
It has strong building codes, good evacuation routes etc.. Just like any other city would. I rather have hurricanes then earthquakes or F5 tornadoes.

We never know how many hurricanes we will get or how many will even hit the US. Some of the most active hurricane seasons in history have be some of the least damaging because it all depends where they hit. The majority of storms which poise a threat to the US go out to sea. Of course Miami can get hit by a Category 5 storm one day and in the next 50-100 years it probably will. But at the same time many other places might too. Also there will be a lot more not so strong storms and even more misses then direct hits. You cant worry about these things just have to buy insurance and if a "big one" comes our way evacuate if you live in an evacuation zone.

[barbecue_is_a_noun]

Hurricane Season to me here in Miami reminds me of growing up in Charlotte - where the slightest indication that a drop of snow might be coming sent everyone to the grocery store to stock up on milk and bread - it was like you were required to show up at the Harris Teeter lol. People do that here too lol -

I went through Wilma and a number of other storms here.

[cixcell]

Originally Posted by TheHurricaneKid

People like me get excited. My home is built pre-Andrew, so every hurricane season we have a chance at the big one. I have always wanted to see the downfall of my neighborhood ever since I realized I hate Miami, so yea.

thats twisted dude. why would wish harm on people?