‘It's exhausting': Wave of hurricane-damaged FL homes demolished to comply with federal mandate

Yahoo

19-03-2025

REDINGTON SHORES, Fla. (WFLA) — Some homeowners who are living in the areas hit hardest by Hurricanes Helene and Milton now have to watch their homes be torn down.
They must comply with a federal mandate that requires severely damaged homes to be elevated or destroyed. FEMA's so-called '50% rule' might cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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The rule is changing the face of the barrier islands across Pinellas County including a neighborhood in Redington Shores.
'This was initially the living room,' said Derek Brunney. 'This was our entrance to the home itself. It's all gone as you can see.'
Brunney lived in his home for more than 20 years, but now it's in shambles with construction debris littered across the property.
Twenty years of memories are gone.
'You start seeing different events you had on the property,' Brunney said. 'Weddings, birthdays, things like that. It just rehashed everything up.'
The shattered windows and crushed cinderblocks are a stark contrast to what his home looked like last week when he showed 8 On Your Side the damage inside.
However, within hours after the demolition crew showed up, his house became a shell.
The rubble left behind is now an eerie reminder of the storms that tore through his neighborhood nearly six months ago.
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'It's one step forward, two, or three steps back,' Brunney said. 'You get punched in the eye at the same time.'
Brunney's new reality is the result of the FEMA 50% rule.
The damage to his home exceeded the threshold for repairs, leaving him with few choices to meet the requirements to tear down or elevate his home.
FEMA's 50% rule is a complex regulation that can cost homeowners a small fortune.
Essentially, if the house is located in a flood zone, and local building officials determine it has substantial damage, the homeowner might not be allowed to just do simple repairs.
They may be forced to tear down your home and completely rebuild at a higher elevation.
The federal regulation is triggered when the cost of repairs exceeds 50% of the market value of the home.
However, many difficulties remain.
'You're still paying your flood insurance,' Brunney said. 'You're still paying your homeowners insurance. You're still paying your water, your sewer, your trash. None of that stops.'
However, Brunney says he's persevering and holding onto hope.
'It's slow,' he said. 'It's daunting. It's exhausting, but it's the only way you're going to move forward right now until you get to the end of it.'
Now, with a new hurricane season fast approaching, homeowners are making difficult and costly decisions when storm proofing their homes.
However, the state just rolled out a new program that is aimed at helping homeowners offset the cost.
'Elevate Florida' is the first elevation mitigation program in the state. If approved, homeowners could receive about 75% of the project cost.
However, critics worry the $400 million allocation from the state may not have enough dollars to meet the demand.
According to the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the goal of Elevate Florida is to enhance community resilience by mitigating private residences against natural hazards.
Officials say mitigation reconstruction is the alternative to structure elevation when the structure is not sound enough to elevate, as determined during application review.
Eligible projects include:
Structure elevation
Mitigation reconstruction
Acquisition/demolition
Wind mitigation
For more information about the program or to apply for assistance, click here.
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