Those affected by the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season are still feeling the reverberations.
One Florida resident shared her experience recovering from Hurricane Helene and her apprehensions for the future as hurricane seasons intensify as a result of rising temperatures.
What's happening?
Residents are struggling to rebuild and relocate after Hurricane Helene. In Madeira Beach, Florida, many homes are still damaged and unlivable, and the 2025 hurricane season is approaching fast.
"I've lost everything," former Madeira Beach resident Connie Noren told WFLA News. "Everything, I've lost all the memories, all the pictures, all the souvenirs. I've traveled a lot with being a military wife, and I've collected a lot of stuff. So, it's gone."
Madeira Beach isn't the only city affected. All across Tampa Bay, repairs are still barely getting underway. Even with governmental assistance, the cost of home repairs is a massive roadblock, according to ABC Action News, especially as obtaining flood insurance checks is frustratingly difficult.
Why is hurricane damage concerning?
Per the Weather Channel, hurricane season has only amplified in severity over the past decade, with storms each year exceeding the former average. In fact, 2015 marked the last hurricane season without a single storm making landfall. Ever since, the damage to land and residential infrastructure rates have soared.
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If hurricane damage continues to keep up this alarming pattern, we can expect insurance coverage to drop in at-risk areas and threats to infrastructure and home security to increase, making hurricanes both a financial and mortal risk.
The rise in more intense hurricanes can be attributed to our warming planet. As we release more and more heat-trapping pollution into our atmosphere, Atlantic temperatures grow warmer, supercharging seasonal hurricanes.
What's being done about hurricanes?
While federal and state assistance can help offset the costs of Hurricane Helene repairs, it's not a long-term fix. To protect ourselves from worsening hurricanes in the future, we need to cut down on our pollution output and focus on fortifying our urban and residential infrastructure.
Installing solar panels in conjunction with battery power, for example, can simultaneously lower your reliance on fuel-based energy, save money on bills, and make your home more resilient against storms, since energy grids often go down in extreme weather conditions.
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