Climate change has altered precipitation patterns that brought on heavier and irregular rainfalls in recent years; heightening safety and health threats posed by extreme flooding and powerful hurricanes.

Florida, being a peninsula located between the Straits of Florida, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, has been tracked to have experienced the greatest number of hurricane devastation. The most recent of which were Hurricanes Michael and Irma.

Recently, the Miami Herald reported that

 

“An estimated 64,000 Florida homes will face flooding every other week by year 2045, half of which are those located in South Florida. The estimated 64,000 will increase to a million by the year 2100, putting one in 10 Florida homes at risk of flooding every fortnight.

Miami Herald based its report on scientific analyses performed by the “Union of Concerned Scientists,” to which climate experts used a flood model developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and housing information gathered from the database of the web-based real estate marketplace of Zillow.

Florida, particularly in its southern region, is well-known for being a vacation destination and haven to second-homes built by affluent families as winter-season retreats  The Miami Herald reflects that based on the increasing occurrences of flooding in Florida even during sunny days, time should not be wasted in the fight against climate change,.

Mainly because the scientific study has put Florida homes at the top of the nationwide list of properties at risk.

Hurricane-Protection Technologies Help Florida Homes Remain Resilient to Hurricanes

Advancements in hurricane-protection technologies have made many homes in Florida resilient to the devastating effects of hurricanes. The drive started with the 2000 International Residential and Commercial Building Codes that made the use of impact resistant building materials, requisites for home and building constructions in hurricane prone regions.

In Florida, Building Codes require the use of impact resistant materials for the exterior of buildings and homes constructed in areas where winds at 120 mph or greater are expected.

Some examples of mandatory technology-enhanced impact protections include hurricane shutters, reinforced doors, impact-resistant windows and recently, roof straps or cables connecting the roof all the way down to the concrete slab of the basement.

In light of the intensified fight against climate change, many U.S. states and local governments have added energy codes to ensure that new homes and buildings are energy efficient as well.

Cleaning-Up as Protection Against Health Hazards

As stronger storms and hurricanes also bring flooding, home environments are at great risks of having large amounts of health hazards, particularly molds. They carry microorganisms that cause allergies and diseases. Frequent and untreated allergic reactions can lead to asthma or other respiratory disorders, as well as agggravate existing health problems.

In Boca Grande, a popular island vacation-destination in South Florida, professional cleaners are called upon to render complete carpet cleaning boca grande homes require. They use technologies not only for thoroughly cleaning carpets and upholstery but also for repairing badly damaged carpet sections, where molds and other bacteria-carrying agents tend to exist and persist.