Florida's resilience grows post-hurricanes, embracing future storms

No sooner had residents of the Bahia Vista Gulf condominium complex dug out and from Hurricane Helene than they were faced with the same daunting cleanup from new damage inflicted by Hurricane Milton.

The beachfront units had been gutted, treated and dried out after Hurricane Helene and mounds of sand that had blown in from the beach had been removed. Then, less than two weeks later, Hurricane Milton barreled in and undid all the progress.

They've got to start the whole process over, cleaning, sanitizing, bringing in drying equipment, getting them all dried and prepped for renovations, lamented Bill O'Connell, a board member at the complex in Venice, about an hour's drive south of Tampa. The second hurricane brought all the sand back on our property.

Some longtime Floridians have grown accustomed to the annual cycle of storms that can shatter and upend lives in a state known mostly for its balmy weather, sunshine and beaches.

It's the price you pay to live in paradise, O'Connell sa