As Florida recovers from another devastating hurricane season, recovery and rebuilding are top priorities for many residents. However, there is one important step in the process that many home and business owners continue to overlook at their own expense – flood mitigation.Neglecting flood mitigation perpetuates a continuous cycle of flood loss and recovery. To give you an example of how serious the problem is in Florida, a Jacksonville home holds the record for most federally funded rebuilds with 21 claims.Flood mitigation is a relatively new industry and much of the nation is stuck in a “sandbag” mentality when it comes to protecting their homes from flooding. Over the past 20 years, the flood mitigation industry has experienced exponential growth and innovation. The sandbags of yesteryear have been replaced with professionally engineered and thoroughly tested flood mitigation systems – many of them manufactured in Florida, including at the Jupiter-based Flood Panel. Such systems are designed to protect everything from family homes and small businesses to hospitals, power plants and schools.National Weather Service doesn’t mention flood mitigationThe industry is so new that the National Weather Service doesn’t mention flood mitigation in its advice on what to do to strengthen your home before a tropical storm or hurricane, instead providing tips to board up your windows, bring your patio furniture inside, and keep trees around your home trimmed — all good tips, but none to keep floodwaters from damaging your home.Opinion:Florida isn’t alone in its home insurance crisis. We must reimagine the system.Flooding causes more damage annually than any other natural disaster, equating to billions of dollars in property damage. Building structures that are properly protected from flooding costs slightly more, but the additional expense will ultimately benefit communities in case of future flooding events. According to the National Institute of Building Sciences, every dollar invested in flood mitigation will save you $6 compared to the cost of recovery.In Jacksonville, Palm Beach and Miami, flood mitigation systems protect businessesIn Jacksonville, Palm Beach, Miami, the Keys and everywhere in between, I have met with home and business owners whose properties were protected from the flooding following hurricanes. Those businesses that invested in effective flood mitigation systems reopen to customers as quickly as the next day. Those businesses not protected face weeks or months planning their next steps or awaiting federal dollars to rebuild and losing revenue each day that they are closed. The devastation is heartbreaking, even for someone who has witnessed it hundreds of times. So, why don’t more property owners use modern flood mitigation systems? One issue is a lack of awareness of the range of flood mitigation solutions available and their effectiveness in protecting their most significant investment. Another reason is a reluctance to invest in protection. Flood mitigation is a lot like preventative care in medicine – those who get regular check-ups, immunizations, and screening are likely to catch issues before they become serious problems. Proper flood mitigation is like immunization for your home or business. Lastly, there is “flood amnesia,” a tendency for communities to forget about the impacts of flooding over time.Opinion:The connection between hurricanes and investment in FloridaAn important step in this process is educating lawmakers and changing the policy mindset that emphasizes flood recovery rather than flood mitigation. How many hurricane seasons will it take before Florida lawmakers realize that investing in flood mitigation now will protect communities, safeguard our infrastructure, and save taxpayer money? Florida’s economy is the fourth largest in the United States, roughly equivalent to the gross domestic product of Spain, which makes it critical to the financial well-being of our country.Clearly, hurricanes and tropical storms are becoming increasingly frequent and more severe, which makes flood mitigation even more important in the future. We owe it to Florida home and business owners, our state, and our nation to break this cycle of devastation and recovery and be more forward thinking in protecting our vital assets.Christopher Rodriguez is a flood mitigation specialist and a territory manager for Floodproofing.com in Jupiter.
