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Meta-description: A Florida family specially engineered their home with design elements that made it resist the worst effects of Hurricane Helene.
Crystal Beach, Florida, is just a few miles from Tampa Bay on Florida’s Gulf Coast. It is one of many communities heavily impacted by an unexpectedly strong storm from Hurricane Helene. Although there is widespread destruction in Crystal Beach, one home weathered the storm and the storm surge much better than others. The homeowners believe their decision to engineer their home to be hurricane-resistant played a big part in its survival. Here is what they did.
Hurricane risk is a fact of life for Florida residents, but areas like Crystal Beach are at even higher risk than the rest of the state. It sits right on the coast in what is known as a “High Velocity Hurricane Zone.” That designation requires newer homes in the area to include storm-resistant features like high-impact glass to prevent hurricane-force winds from ripping houses open. The Reimold family didn’t stop there.
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They took several other proactive steps to make their home more resistant to potential storms. One of those steps includes using concrete blocks to reinforce the home’s foundation. In an interview with Newsweek, homeowner Jenny Reimold said, “Its heavy, reinforced construction makes it less likely to be lifted, shifted, or damaged during severe weather.”
The Reimolds took other preventative measures to prevent ancillary hurricane damage from destroying their home. Knowing that storm surge is an issue in any hurricane, they installed vents on the first floor of their home. This allowed water from the storm surge to enter their house and pass through it instead of getting trapped inside and rising, reducing the risk of water damage to the home’s interior.
Another important decision the Reimolds made was elevating all the electrical outlets on the first floor to a minimum height of five feet. By doing this, they drastically reduced the chances that rising floodwaters would spark an electrical fire, an underestimated danger during storm surges brought about by heavy rains or hurricane conditions.
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Despite all these features, the Reimolds’ property still suffered damage. Jenny Reimold explained, “Our safety features significantly minimized what could have been a much worse outcome. Our bottom floor flooded to about 2.5 feet, just around the level of the flood vents. While most belongings were lost, the house performed as it was designed to.”
She continued, “It limited the water intrusion, the windows held strong, and we had no fires, unlike many homes around us.” However, 2.5 feet of water still destroyed their home gym and the children’s playroom. A piece of a nearby pier dislodged by the storm surge destroyed their pool, but the house survived.
Many of the Reimolds’ neighbors’ homes are in much worse shape, a reality Reimold acknowledged when she said, “We are among the lucky ones. We’ve seen immense loss in our community and across the country. We were fortunate to have the resources to safeguard our home, family, pets, horses, and elderly parents. I recognize not everyone had that same capability.”
Unfortunately for the Reimolds, Hurricane Milton is now taking dead aim at Tampa Bay and Crystal Beach. Milton is expected to make landfall as a Category 5, which will pose an even bigger challenge to Reimold’s home. With that said, it’s a good bet that Florida insurers, lenders, and legislators will consider making some (if not all) of the hurricane-resistant features in Reimold’s home a requirement for new home construction.
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This article This Couple’s Hurricane Resistant House Survived Helene–Here Is How They Built It originally appeared on Benzinga.com
