After back-to-back hurricanes devastated Florida’s Gulf Coast last year, residents of this artsy waterfront city are facing wrenching choices: demolish, rebuild to costly flood-resistant codes, or walk away from homes that defined their community’s charm, The New York Times reported.
Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which struck within weeks of each other, left a trail of destruction across the state. In Gulfport, a city of about 12,000 near Tampa Bay, nearly 100 homes were deemed “substantially damaged” under federal flood insurance rules. That triggered requirements to either elevate houses to modern standards or tear them down. For many, the cost was overwhelming.
“The locals are disappearing,” said Nancy Poucher, 70, an artist whose mustard-colored bungalow was flooded beyond repair. Unable to afford the six-figure cost of elevating her home, she and her husband sold the property at a loss to a developer.
The mandate stems from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance Program, which requires homes with damage exceeding half their market value to meet new floodplain codes. FEMA says buildings constructed under these standards suffer about 80 percent less damage, but compliance has proved prohibitive for many longtime residents.
April Thanos, Gulfport’s vice mayor, warned that the wave of demolitions and replacements is transforming the character of her city. “People moved here because they liked the old Florida character,” she said. “Whether you call them McMansions or not, the homes that are going to be built are going to be elevated, and larger. It will change things.”
Similar shifts followed Hurricane Irma in the Keys in 2017 and Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers Beach in 2022. This time, the exodus is visible in Gulfport, where pastel cottages and midcentury bungalows are giving way to bulkier, storm-hardened houses affordable mostly to the wealthy.
Representative Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican who represents much of Pinellas County, has called for changes to the FEMA rule, labeling it a federal “overreach.” President Trump has reduced FEMA staffing this year and has threatened to dismantle the agency altogether, a move that could reshape how flood insurance and rebuilding mandates are enforced.
For residents like 72-year-old Diane Hannem, whose 1952 marina-side home was nearly lost, the rules forced months of uncertainty. Initially told she would need to rebuild, she eventually received a reassessment that allowed her to restore her home without elevating it. “I’m rolling the dice and hoping we don’t have this kind of situation again,” she said.
Others were not as fortunate. Demolition permits surged across Pinellas County, with about 250 issued in unincorporated areas since October — quadruple the year before. Gulfport alone saw 32 homes torn down.
Despite the turmoil, some locals are finding ways to preserve their community’s memory. Poucher, who lost her bungalow, now leads a project painting portraits of demolished or sold homes. “They have created eight so far and plan to continue once the weather cools down,” she said, noting the bittersweet comfort the artwork brings.
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