When a hurricane sends feet of water through a home, rebuilding can feel like preparing for the next disaster.
On Florida's Sunset Beach, one homeowner decided to raise a badly flooded house onto steel beams and pillars in a transformation that he says has already brought some peace of mind.
Here's what to know
Treasure Island homeowner Hendrik Bisanz said 2024's Hurricane Helene pushed about four feet of water through his house, leaving the ground floor heavily damaged. As local news outlet Bay News 9 reported, the flooding became the catalyst for a full elevation project aimed at better protecting the property from future storms.
"We had pretty much four feet of water, as did everybody that has a house on the ground floor, throughout the entire home," Bisanz told the outlet. "It was just a mess."
Later, the repair plan called for placing a steel support system beneath the house before lifting it. Bisanz said crews dug tunnel-like spaces under the structure, installed a steel grid there, then raised the home up, with the lift taking three days.
More background
For Bisanz, Helene was part of a longer pattern of flooding. He said water had been impacting the property regularly even before the hurricane, reflecting the repeated challenges of living along the coast as sea levels rise.
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"We experienced water coming in almost every year, which is also why I had already signed my elevations contract before the major hurricane," he told Bay News 9. "But now, having it up, it's a game changer."
The project also changed the home in ways beyond storm protection.
"Our views have improved," he said. "Now we basically get the sunset in one way and still have the water like we did before."
And while not everyone can raise their home in such dramatic fashion, Bisanz's repair work shows the difference that the climate adaptation strategy can make.
"I feel very confident that I have a house that will survive another hurricane," Bisanz told the local news.
Where can I learn more?
These stories look at other ways Florida homeowners and communities are preparing for stronger hurricanes and more frequent flooding:
• One family watched their impenetrable home ride out Hurricane Helene's destruction.
• Another homeowner showed how a hurricane-proof home stayed standing after repeated storms.
• As Hurricane Erin closed in, a coastal owner chose to move the home inland.
• A housing company is building strong, hurricane-proof homes designed to take punishing coastal winds.
• In southwest Florida, a solar-powered town weathered Hurricane Ian with little damage.
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