Newer construction homes in the Keys appear to have survived the storm - the biggest takeaway from hurricane Irma:
Bottom Line: On one hand having to adhere to the post-Andrew "Miami-Dade" code standard for construction can be a real pain. Having renovated a few homes over the years, I get what a pain it can be to be able to meet the code. Especially when doing renovations on a pre-Andrew home. On the flip side it might be the only reason why many homes in the keys are still standing and may one day save your home or even your family's life.
In the immediate aftermath of Irma we're beginning to see a clearer picture of what's "destroyed" compared to "damaged". According to the initial FEMA estimates 25% of homes were destroyed, 65% of homes had major damage and 90% of homes had some damage. When you see pictures of "destroyed" homes what do you see? Often it's wood-frame and mobile homes right? So what's standing? Time and again we're seeing that post-Andrew construction held up. It'll take some time before we have a complete idea of what's what but already there's a trend from surveyed damage.
In case you're not familiar there are a few post-Andrew standards that took effect for home construction. For Florida, all construction had to be able to withstand winds of at least 111 mph. For Miami-Dade and Broward that standard rises to 130 mph and there's another standard that pretty much only those in the keys are familiar with... Post-Andrew Key's construction had to be able to withstand 150 mph. It's seldom talked about and most look to the Miami-Dade standard as being the most rigorous (though it's actually Monroe's). So what's the takeaway here? How close were all parts of south Florida from being tagged by this cat 4 storm? How likely is it that one day we'll be hit by one? So, in that regard it would seem to make sense to learn as much from this storm's damage assessment as possible and apply it in our own construction plans. Even if it's a bit more than required.
Many of us buy "forever" homes in SFL. That doesn't mean that the house itself as constructed will necessarily be here forever. If that's your purpose it would seem sensible to go the extra mile or two when renovating to see to it that it has what it takes to truly be a "forever" home.