TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — It was once argued that the trees would help save Florida’s Panhandle from the fury of a hurricane, as the acres of forests in the region would provide a natural barrier to ...

MIAMI - When we witness the destruction caused by Hurricane Ian in the Fort Myers area or recall the utter devastation of Hurricane Michael in the Panhandle, it makes you think, "How strong are the ...

Lance Peterman’s home in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, neighborhood of River Oaks flooded earlier this month during record-setting rains. It wasn’t the first time for him or many of his neighbors. But ...

NPR's A Martínez talks to Kathy Baughman McLeod, director of the Arsht-Rockefeller Resilience Center, on whether Florida's building codes can stand up to increasingly severe hurricanes. Hurricane Ian ...

Miami-Dade County has some of the strongest building codes in the world, designed to withstand the punishing 150 mph winds of Category 5 storms like Hurricane Andrew, which hit 30 years ago and ...

Newer homes seemed to fare much better than older structures during Hurricane Ian, suggesting that updated Florida building codes made a difference. In the hardest-hit parts of southwest Florida, many ...

The Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, Fla., could be a spark to ignite wholesale revisions to the state’s building codes similar to the effect of Hurricane Andrew. It could take months to ...

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Thirty years ago, a Category 5 hurricane named Andrew slammed into southeast Florida. For many long-time Floridians, that’s how they mark time: “before Andrew” and “after Andrew.” ...

An aerial view of the damaged homes caused by Hurricane Ian are seen in the vicinity of Fort Myers on Thursday, September 29, 2022. Al Diaz adiaz@miamiherald.com Every time a hurricane slams into ...

Surfside's building officials were slow, inefficient and uncooparative. The town's code compliance division was spread thin, year after year. An engineer reported structural damage, but a town ...