Hurricane Michael of 2018 destroyed Mexico Beach and the earlier residents are unable to return because of high costs

The height of new homes under construction now are at least 8 feet. Four years earlier, Hurricane Michael destroyed this blue-collar beach town in the Gulf of Mexico and the belongings of residents were spread across the two-lane highway. The old-style Florida cinderblock and stucco cottages are being replaced with stronger more elevated homes that conform to Florida’s latest coastal building codes to be in a better position to withstand powerful winds and storm surges. These new homes are proof of the resilience of some of the locals but they are also bigger and more expensive. As a result, many of the previous owners found themselves priced out. It is obvious. Mexico Beach is not the only coastal town in the U.S. struggling with affordable housing. There is no doubt that prices have skyrocketed in seaside communities from California to North Carolina. Big corporations are buying up properties and those who work from home are trying to buy second homes. Hurricane Ian of 2022 devastated portions of southwest Florida. These forced many residents to leave for good. A tiny Florida beach town is rebuilding after a hurricane. Is it becoming a preserve of the rich? .

The climatic disaster left a bad taste in the mouth for the residents. They had to battle innumerable issues like insurance, government bureaucracy apart from rising prices, construction costs, supply chain problems and labor shortages. The pandemic added to their miseries. In October 2018, Mexico Beach was a quaint and sleepy beach town on a stretch of the state’s northern Gulf coast. Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 storm with 160 mph winds and a 14-foot storm surge, devastated the city. It uprooted the pier, toppled the city’s water tower, and demolished the town’s police station, grocery store and hardware store. In 2016, the city’s website said Mexico Beach did not even have a set of traffic lights. Michael damaged or destroyed most of the structures of the city and the population of full-time residents dropped drastically. Rebuilding was a massive exercise and Mexico Beach now has a bank, a gas station, a restaurant, a hotel and about 900 residents. It has received federal funding to restore water and sewer mains, dredge debris from its canals, restore its beaches and build public parks. It is all about the basic needs for survival.

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