Hurricane Helene killed hundreds of people and destroyed countless buildings in the Southeast.
The storm made landfall along Florida’s Big Bend on Sept. 26 and carved a path of catastrophe through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and beyond. One homeowner shared how their house survived the wreckage.
Jenny Reimold and family built a “hurricane-proof” home in 2020 in the Tampa area, which hadn’t been hit so hard by a hurricane in 103 years. The designer shared on social media the features that allowed it to weather the storm surge, which caused so many problems along the coast.
They included hydrostatic vents to allow water in and out of the house without creating pressure issues; high electrical outlets to avoid their coming in contact with water; and high-impact windows to hold up against water, wind, and debris.
The house still took on a few feet of water, but it didn’t shift thanks to reinforced concrete blocks. Those foundational pieces were also filled with more concrete, and the weight and strength prevented serious damage, Reimold told Newsweek.
“Our first floor is gone, but it’s just stuff. We are the lucky ones,” Reimold said on TikTok. “So many people lost so much more.”
Watch now: Your favorite sushi might be threatened by climate change
Because of the human-caused rising global temperature, hurricanes and other extreme weather events are becoming more intense. Death tolls are the biggest consequence, of course, and another repercussion is the disruption of insurance coverage.
Homeowners and developers are doing what they can to prepare, with one nearby community also staving off disaster with well-built structures. Hunters Point, a net-zero neighborhood built by Pearl Homes, stood strong with steel straps to reinforce framing, water-resistant hard foam insulation, and more. None of the houses flooded.
Reimold acknowledged that she was in a privileged position to be able to afford such home improvements and spent time after the storm spreading the word about helping others recover.
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“The house performed as it was designed to: It limited the water intrusion, the windows held strong, and we had no fires, unlike many homes around us,” Reimold told Newsweek.
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