Hurricane Mitigation: Have We Learned From Our Past?

It has been close to twenty years since Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida.  Much time, effort and money has gone into investigating the devastation and attempting to make changes to minimize the damage in the future.  Have we learned enough to make us safer?  Have we implemented sufficient changes based on what we have learned?  Are those changes being properly enforced?

The answer to those questions is not a simple one and it will vary from municipaliy to municipality and from region to region.

If you focus on the entire State of Florida, the answer would have to be no to all three questions.  If you focus on South Florida, generally speaking, especially Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, the answer would be yes to all three questions. 

The discrepancy in the answers to the above questions is only natural since you have to have experienced the devastation first hand in order to properly appreciate the urgency and desire to change.  There is a constant and intense struggle between South Florida and the rest of the state with respect to implementing and enforcing what we have learned.  South Florida has implemented a safe code whereas the rest of the state has not.  South Florida has implemented strict product control whereas the rest of the state is attempting to weaken that control. 

If we have this intense struggle in the State where hurricane codes are the strictest and most advanced, and there is still tremedous lack of implementation and enforcement, how do you think the rest of the hurricane prone regions stand as far as hurricane preparedness??

Not good, I would have to guess...not good!