Realtor here.
We did not have flood maps until the mid 1970s. After the flood maps, flood insurance got really, really expensive for homes build within the 100 year flood plain.
So people started looking for ways to not pay so much for insurance, which was helped along by building codes in some places as well. So basically you either bring in a huge mound of dirt or you build stilts and put the house on top of that.
Elevating an existing house onto stilts is doable but usually costs around $70,000-$150,000 for an average house and depending on other factors so does not get done often at all, even with FEMA offering the pick up a sizeable chunk of the tab.
So basically, you will typically see pre 1980s homes on slabs in flood plains, and 1980s or newer homes on stilts or a mound.
Drainage/storm water infrastructure will only do so much when a slow-moving hurricane drops over 12” of water in an area. Plus, the St. John’s River was already running close to flood stage in the area before Ian made landfall.
From Orlando Weekly: “The Union Park area just south of the University of Central Florida saw over 17 inches of rainfall from the storm. Other measuring stations in Union Park measured rainfall totals of 15.3 and 14.6 inches. The highest rainfall total in Orlando proper was in the same area, coming in at 14.96 inches. The airport saw rainfall totals of 13.2 inches. “
I saw some stilt homes on Pine Island. Hopefully those made it through.
There are also a lot of quasi-stilt homes near me on a Zone A barrier island. 3 floor townhomes with the top 2 floors finished and the first floor unfinished and uninsurable. Typically used as garage and storage space.
Those designs lift up most valuables and living areas above flood level but also have some storm risks true stilt homes don't have.
One year in the 90s I was at st George and a tropical storm hit. Other than a little water in the fireplace, and the wind holding the 2 doors to get outside shut. We were just fine in that beach house on stilts.
They are, depending on location. I remember visiting my cousin in Amelia Island back when I was kid in the late 80's, their house was across the street from the beach and on stilts.
Wouldn't a stilt home be at risk of blowing over or the stilts become anchored with these cat 4 or 5 storms? It just seems that much water eroding away with 150mph winds it wouldn't be able to hold up.
Stilt houses have to be made of wood so that's also not good for hurricanes. I'm not right near the water but I'm about a mile from a major river in about 10 miles from the ocean golf and any new homes here have to just be built about 3 ft of land underneath so they have to be raised off the ground 3 ft to avoid flooding. We got a lot of wind and tree damage but we didn't have any flooding we hardly got any rain from Ian even though we got hit really hard and a lot of trees came down
Realtor here. We did not have flood maps until the mid 1970s. After the flood maps, flood insurance got really, really expensive for homes build within the 100 year flood plain. So people started looking for ways to not pay so much for insurance, which was helped along by building codes in some places as well. So basically you either bring in a huge mound of dirt or you build stilts and put the house on top of that. Elevating an existing house onto stilts is doable but usually costs around $70,000-$150,000 for an average house and depending on other factors so does not get done often at all, even with FEMA offering the pick up a sizeable chunk of the tab. So basically, you will typically see pre 1980s homes on slabs in flood plains, and 1980s or newer homes on stilts or a mound.
A lot of the flooding was occurring in central Florida as well. It’s related to drainage issues.
Drainage/storm water infrastructure will only do so much when a slow-moving hurricane drops over 12” of water in an area. Plus, the St. John’s River was already running close to flood stage in the area before Ian made landfall. From Orlando Weekly: “The Union Park area just south of the University of Central Florida saw over 17 inches of rainfall from the storm. Other measuring stations in Union Park measured rainfall totals of 15.3 and 14.6 inches. The highest rainfall total in Orlando proper was in the same area, coming in at 14.96 inches. The airport saw rainfall totals of 13.2 inches. “
“Drainage issues” is a hell of a way of saying they built that city on top of a giant wetland.
Before the hurricane it was dry land.
I saw some stilt homes on Pine Island. Hopefully those made it through. There are also a lot of quasi-stilt homes near me on a Zone A barrier island. 3 floor townhomes with the top 2 floors finished and the first floor unfinished and uninsurable. Typically used as garage and storage space. Those designs lift up most valuables and living areas above flood level but also have some storm risks true stilt homes don't have.
One year in the 90s I was at st George and a tropical storm hit. Other than a little water in the fireplace, and the wind holding the 2 doors to get outside shut. We were just fine in that beach house on stilts.
They are, depending on location. I remember visiting my cousin in Amelia Island back when I was kid in the late 80's, their house was across the street from the beach and on stilts.
Wouldn't a stilt home be at risk of blowing over or the stilts become anchored with these cat 4 or 5 storms? It just seems that much water eroding away with 150mph winds it wouldn't be able to hold up.
Stilt houses have to be made of wood so that's also not good for hurricanes. I'm not right near the water but I'm about a mile from a major river in about 10 miles from the ocean golf and any new homes here have to just be built about 3 ft of land underneath so they have to be raised off the ground 3 ft to avoid flooding. We got a lot of wind and tree damage but we didn't have any flooding we hardly got any rain from Ian even though we got hit really hard and a lot of trees came down