Three hurricanes made landfall in Florida between August 5 and October 9, 2024. Hurricane Debby overwhelmed wastewater treatment plants, causing sewage to be discharged into Sarasota Bay. Hurricane Helene devastated parts of Florida as well as Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas. Hurricane Milton brought high winds and flooding that knocked out power for millions of Floridians and caused at least fourteen deaths.

Seniors who live in manufactured home retirement communities are particularly vulnerable to hurricanes. While mobile and manufactured homes provide affordable housing, most are not built to withstand hurricanes. According to the New York Times, FEMA “spends billions of dollars each year to protect communities against disasters like flooding,” but mobile home parks do not benefit from that spending because FEMA cannot easily assist privately owned communities.

Disaster survivors can receive funds from FEMA for repair or replacement of a damaged home, although unwarranted distrust of FEMA employees has hampered the agency’s ability to serve them. Unfortunately, the cost of a new manufactured home is typically twice the amount that survivors receive from FEMA. Unless survivors have insurance that included the replacement cost of a manufactured home — and most do not — they may find that a hurricane has rendered them homeless for the foreseeable future.

Climate Change Is Challenging Retirees

Florida has long been a favored retirement destination, in part because of its pleasant climate. Florida’s population has increased from four million to 22 million in the last 70 years. Retirement relocation is one reason for Florida’s current status as the nation’s third largest state. For many retirees, however, climate change has made Florida a less attractive place to live.

As credible experts explain, warming oceans are contributing to powerful storms. Rising sea levels are causing floods. While hurricanes were once seen as a phenomenon that only affected southern Florida, the entire state is now at risk. Although Florida’s governor denies that climate change has any impact on Florida’s weather, Floridians who once agreed with that position are increasingly accepting the reality that human activity is contributing to climate change.

Seniors Are Coping with Devastating Losses

While Floridians of all ages have been affected by the hurricanes, their impact on older adults has been particularly pronounced. Public radio station WUFT reports that Gulf Coast seniors are struggling to recover from back-to-back-to-back hurricanes.

The loss of electricity prevented some Florida seniors from recharging their mobile phones, leaving them isolated from distant family members. Without a phone, they had no easy way to contact FEMA to ask for help.

Ruth Strickland, an 87-year-old resident of a retirement community in Sarasota, heeded warnings to evacuate before Hurricane Milton arrived. Because she has back problems and a severe hearing loss, she relied on her neighbors and friends to help her relocate to an inland location until the storm passed. Her home survived but she returned to a community in tatters.

Even when residences were not destroyed, Florida seniors who were in a hurricane’s path are wondering how they will pay to fix roofs, siding, and other damage. Some residents are thinking about going back to work to pay for repairs. As one senior told the NPR reporter, “I have $20 in the bank, and I have no savings, and I have no insurance. And I don’t know what to do.”