After Hurricane Ian, a low-lying Florida city starts to rebuild. Should it?
As Hurricane Wilma tore through South Florida in 2005, the city of Homestead was still holding onto its sense of pride.
After Hurricane Wilma, a low-lying city in South Florida started to rebuild. Some were surprised to learn that there was still a hurricane behind them.
For weeks after the storm, residents held family meetings throughout the city.
“For us, it just was like, ‘Don’t worry about everything else. Let’s focus on getting back to our normal and getting our homes back,'” said David Mearns, who is president of the Homestead Homeowners association.
“When I think about Hurricane Wilma, everyone says, ‘Oh, you don’t live in the same place anymore.’ That’s how many of us felt it.”
Mearns, who retired after the 2005 storm and is now a consultant for a private firm, says he is excited for the city where about one-third of the residents live below the poverty line.
“We had been through some hard times, so we knew that now we needed to come back and get back to our normal,” he says.
“Some people wanted to go back with a mindset that it’s okay to get back to normal. And some people wanted to go back with a mindset that it’s okay to rebuild. But it’s not okay. You have to rebuild your city. It’s not okay… to rebuild a city and not rebuild the infrastructure of your city.”
As Hurricane Wilma tore through South Florida in 2005, a low-lying city in South Florida started to rebuild. Some were surprised to learn that there was a hurricane behind them.
For weeks after the storm, residents held family meetings throughout the city. They wanted to rebuild what was lost.
“For us, it just was like, ‘Don’t worry about everything else. Let’s focus on getting back to our normal,” said David Mearns, who is president of the Homestead Homeowners association