Race and Recovery from Hurricane Michael: A Case Study in Florida

Jasmine Fuller

Natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and wildfire events, have devastating impacts on communities. In the U.S., 54% of the population have experienced some negative impact, whether economic, social, or relating to health, as a result of such natural disasters (Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 2021). 

Following a natural disaster, homeowners and local governments try to rebuild and restore their communities, turning to personal savings, insurance settlements, and public and private disaster relief funds. However, total damages incurred by individuals and communities as a result of a disaster typically exceed these funds. This deficit leads to displacement and eventually blight. Blighted or vacant and abandoned properties are linked to increased crime, decreased property values, poor resident health, and depleted local government resources, a less than ideal ground on which to rebuild a community (Cui & Walsh 2015; Spader et al. 2016; Kondo et al 2018; Mui et al. 2017; Chen & Rafail 2020; Schneider 2015; Stern & Lester 2021; Boessen & Chamberlain 2017; Whitaker & Fitzpatrick 2011; and Green, Kouassi, & Mambo, 2011).


Severe Weather Leads to Residential Vacancy

Hurricane Michael made landfall in Florida in October 2018. The Category 5 hurricane struck eastern Florida and parts of southern Georgia causing devastating damage to infrastructure, residents, and communities. Total damage from Hurricane Michael approached $25 billion and, in Florida alone, estimated damages reached $18.4 billion1.

Following Hurricane Michael, affected communities experienced heightened displacement and community blight. Data from the U.S. Postal Service measures residential vacancy rates in Florida before and after the occurrence of Hurricane Michael. Data analysis shows residential vacancy rates in neighborhoods on Hurricane Michael’s storm path were much greater than those outside the path after Hurricane Michael (see Figure 1). Neighborhoods outside of the storm path experienced steady and even decreasing rates of vacancy following the hurricane while neighborhoods in the storm path showed an acceleration in vacancy rates that persisted up to 2 years after the storm. Over 100,000 households were impacted by Hurricane Michael, a statistical model estimates; as a result of Hurricane Michael, affected communities experienced over 1,000 additional home vacancies.

Although we highlight Florida and Hurricane Michael, these trends are not unique to Florida nor to hurricane events. Affected communities across the U.S. experience decreases in population growth and high levels of resident migration following natural disasters (Elliot 2015; Fussell et al. 2017; Wang et al 2014; Schultz & Elliot 2012; Logan et al. 2016; Green, Kouassi, & Mambo, 2011). Damages from natural disasters deplete communities of their residents with devastating impacts on neighborhood recovery.

 
Figure 1 : Residential Vacancy Rates in Florida 2015-2021
 

Minorities Have Heightened Exposure to Natural Disasters

Negative consequences form natural disaster events are even more prevalent in minority communities. Systemic racism has led racial and ethnic minorities to have heightened exposure to natural disasters and limited resources to adequately recover from them. Discriminatory housing policies like redlining, for example, led to the segregation of many racial and ethnic minority populations to undesirable areas more vulnerable to flooding, air pollution and other environmental hazards. A community’s resilience depends largely on the investments in infrastructure and social supports made before the occurrence of a severe weather event. However, low-income communities and communities of color often receive less funding toward capital improvements compared with more affluent white neighborhoods. The most difficult aspect of dealing with climate change threats is the lack of timely federal support to help people quickly recover. In a November 2020 report, FEMA’s National Advisory Council acknowledged that many of the administration’s programs “do not consider the principle of equity in financial assistance relief and research has indicated homeowners in whiter areas who applied for FEMA disaster assistance were more likely to have their applications approved, and that those in areas that were less white tended to receive less in repair and replacement aid than their counterparts” (Johnson, 2022).

Figure 2 describes vacancy rates overtime in areas affected by Hurricane Michael. In blue, residential vacancy rates are shown for communities where over 50% of their residents identify as Black. The red, shows vacancy rates for communities where less than 50% of residents identify as Black. Before and after Hurricane Michael, Racial and Ethnic Minority (REM) communities2 experienced higher residential vacancy rates compared to Non-REM Communities.

 

 

Figure 2: Residential Vacancy Rates in Florida 2015-2021


The Role of Federal Disaster Assistance

If federal aid is effective in repairing affected households, it may reduce rates of residential vacancy and abandonment in these neighborhoods. FEMA is the leading federal agency charged with assisting state and local governments and individuals before, during, and after natural disasters through its Individuals & Households Program (IHP). IHP provides financial and direct services to eligible individuals and households affected by a disaster, including subsidies for temporary housing and repair or replacement of owner-occupied homes. 

Homeowners, renters, and business owners in designated counties3 who sustained damage to their homes, vehicles, personal property, businesses, or inventory as a result of a federally declared disaster are eligible to apply for IHP assistance. 101,878 valid applications were submitted by eligible county residents in Florida following Hurricane Michael and 31,350 applications for assistance were approved (30.8%), with a value over $120 million. But total residential property damage estimates reached almost $200 million. There is an $80 million discrepancy between estimated damages and assistance. This deficit is not surprising since the IHP allocates assistance to meet basic needs and supplement disaster recovery efforts; it is not intended to return disaster-damaged property to its pre-disaster condition. This is small comfort to residents who need more assistance to stay in their homes;75% of applicants did not have home insurance at the time of application.

The Future of Disaster Recovery

Florida is one of the regions in the U.S. most vulnerable to severe weather, having experienced three of the four Category 5 storms to ever hit the U.S. The experience of communities in the storm’s path in Florida provides a cautionary tale of what may lie ahead as storms increase in intensity and federal assistance in disasters remains inadequate to address individual and community devastation.

 

Endnotes

1The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information

2In Racial & Ethnic Minority (REM) communities more than 50% of residents identify as Black

3Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Liberty, Leon, Taylor, Wakulla and Washington counties in the state of Florida

 

References

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