Florida, to leave or not to leave - 19th October 2022

The sunshine state of Florida is for many their paradise. That is until the hurricane hits. On 28th September category four hurricane Ian hit the western coast of the state. It brought with it strong winds, heavy rains and flash floods destroying homes and claiming at least 30 lives.

In Cape Coral residents are counting the cost of this latest storm to hit the area but they still refuse to leave. Kenneth Lowe.

Kenneth Lowe: "Southwest Florida's my heaven on earth. And hurricanes come with South Florida so, you know, you just gotta kind of take it. And I'm willing to take that - it's my favourite place, you know. It's worth it. Just got to kind of have insurance, be prepared and do the smart, make the smart decision."

Florida's the most hurricane ravaged state in the US. Whilst there's debate amongst scientists about whether or not the frequency of hurricanes will increase there's agreement that they're increasing in intensity due to rising sea temperatures linked to climate change. Tamara Lang is hoping that it'll be at least a century before the next big storm hits.

Tamara Lang: "The community's been great. The neighbours have been great. Gotten to know more people since we've even gotten here - just people helping. So, we'll just rebuild and, and you know, move on, hopefully. Hopefully, it'll be another 100 years before the next one. Next big one, I should say."

Cape Coral has grown rapidly built on an area of marshland making it more vulnerable to flooding. With sea levels in the area predicted to increase by 14-18 inches over the next 30 years there are calls to rethink where and how homes are built.

Of those residents who are counting the cost of the latest storm some may now consider relocating, whilst others refuse to abandon the dream.

Irene Giordano: "We have nowhere to go. I mean we could, we've, well I mean, we have places to go. But I, I just, you know, my mom's here - I just don't know. Don't have really any desire, in, in some ways, I - it's hard to say. It just, it just, it's just hard to describe."

Christopher Tuscan: "I think we're gonna try get this place back together. I mean, we've been here since '68. I mean, it's one in a million, and it got us good."