Flossi’s Florida Forecast: Monster Milton Moving Fast

Insurance and rebuilding regulations following a natural disaster in Florida often differ from those in other states due to the state's high exposure to hurricanes and severe weather events. Florida has specific laws, regulations, and practices designed to address the unique risks of its environment, especially regarding property insurance, rebuilding standards, and disaster recovery efforts.

 1. Insurance Regulations

   - Hurricane Deductibles: Florida has unique insurance provisions, such as hurricane deductibles, which only apply in the event of a named storm. These deductibles are often higher than those for other types of damage. For example, after a hurricane, homeowners may have a deductible ranging from 2% to 5% of the insured value of the home, unlike typical deductibles in other states, which are a flat dollar amount.

   - Citizens Property Insurance Corporation: Florida has established Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, a state-run insurer of last resort, to provide coverage for residents who cannot obtain private insurance due to high risk. This is more common in Florida than in most other states, where private insurers typically cover most risks.

   - Reinsurance Requirements: Due to the significant risk of hurricanes, insurance companies in Florida are often required to carry more reinsurance (insurance purchased by insurance companies to mitigate risk) to ensure they can pay claims after major disasters. Florida's Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund helps insurers cover catastrophic losses.

   - Regulation of Insurers: The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation closely monitors insurance companies operating in the state, particularly after a disaster, to ensure that they have adequate reserves to cover claims. Insurers must also file hurricane claims data and report their financial health more frequently.

 2. Building Codes and Rebuilding Regulations

   Florida Building Code: Due to its vulnerability to hurricanes, Florida has one of the strictest building codes in the U.S. The Florida Building Code, updated regularly since 1998, includes specific standards for wind resistance, roofing materials, and flood mitigation. Homes built after the introduction of the modern building code are required to withstand hurricane-force winds (up to 175 mph in some areas), which is a stricter requirement than in most other states.

   - Post-Disaster Rebuilding: After a disaster, rebuilding must comply with the most current building code standards, which can differ from those in effect when the original structure was built. This often requires more expensive materials and techniques. In coastal areas, regulations may require homes to be elevated to prevent flood damage.

   - Flood Zones and Coastal Management: Florida has extensive regulations concerning rebuilding in flood-prone areas. Properties in FEMA-designated flood zones are required to have flood insurance, and there are restrictions on rebuilding in these areas to reduce future risk.

 3. Disaster Recovery and Financial Aid

   - State-Managed Disaster Assistance: Florida has a state-managed recovery program in addition to federal assistance from FEMA. The state provides additional funding for housing repairs, temporary housing, and debris removal, which is often faster or more comprehensive than in other states.

   - Mitigation Grants: Florida residents are eligible for mitigation grants to reinforce homes and reduce future damage, such as the Hurricane Loss Mitigation Program. These grants are designed to help homeowners retrofit their homes for better protection against future storms.

 4. Flood Insurance:

   - National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP): Florida has a higher participation rate in the NFIP than most other states due to its large number of homes in flood-prone areas. Flood insurance is mandatory for homes in certain high-risk zones, and rates are generally higher in Florida due to the increased risk of flooding.

   - Private Flood Insurance: In recent years, Florida has encouraged the development of private flood insurance markets as an alternative to the NFIP, providing more options for homeowners.

 Differences from Other States:

- Building Code Stringency: Florida's building codes, particularly in hurricane-prone areas, are more stringent than most other states. For example, Texas and Louisiana also face hurricanes, but their codes do not require the same level of wind resistance in non-coastal areas.

- Hurricane-Specific Insurance: Many states don't have specific hurricane deductibles. States like California (which deals with earthquakes) and Kansas (which deals with tornadoes) have different insurance provisions tailored to their natural disaster risks.

State-Specific Assistance Programs: Florida’s state-run programs, such as Citizens Insurance and the Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, are unique and not widely replicated in other states.

Several satellites transmit critical information about hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico to aid in tracking, forecasting, and analysis.

GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites) Series

   - GOES-East (GOES-16): Positioned to monitor the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the eastern U.S., GOES-16 provides continuous imagery and data. It captures high-resolution visible, infrared, and water vapour imagery, offering insights into hurricane development, wind patterns, and cloud structure.

   - Function: GOES satellites are geostationary, meaning they remain fixed over a specific area, making them ideal for continuously observing hurricanes moving across the Gulf.

   Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the GOES-R Series, including GOES-16 (GOES-East). Under a contract with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Lockheed Martin was responsible for designing, developing, and constructing the GOES-R Series satellites.

Lockheed Martin built the satellite platform for GOES-16 and its counterparts in the GOES-R Series (GOES-17, GOES-T, and GOES-U). 

The company developed the satellites at their Waterton Canyon facility in Colorado.

- Harris Corporation (now L3Harris Technologies): Harris provided the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), the key instrument on GOES-16 that provides high-resolution imagery of weather patterns, storms, and atmospheric conditions.

- United Launch Alliance (ULA): ULA was responsible for launching the GOES-16 satellite aboard an Atlas V rocket.

The Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) was developed by L3Harris Technologies (formerly Harris Corporation) in partnership with NOAA and NASA as part of the GOES-R Series of satellites, including GOES-16. The ABI is the key instrument that provides high-resolution images of weather patterns, storms, and environmental conditions. 

Invention and Development

The ABI was designed and built by Harris Corporation specifically to replace the earlier imagers on previous GOES satellites. The goal was to enhance the capabilities of satellite imagery for more detailed and timely weather forecasts. The ABI represented a significant technological leap, increasing the number of spectral bands from 5 to 16, allowing for more detailed observations across different wavelengths, including visible, infrared, and near-infrared.

Key Capabilities of the ABI:

1. Higher Resolution: ABI provides images with a spatial resolution of up to 0.5 kilometres in the visible bands and 2 kilometres in the infrared bands, enabling meteorologists to see finer details of weather systems.

2. More Spectral Bands: The 16 spectral bands allow the ABI to monitor various atmospheric phenomena, including cloud formation, moisture content, ocean temperatures, and more.

3. Improved Coverage: The ABI can capture full-disk images of the Earth every 5-15 minutes and focus on smaller regions every 30 seconds, making it incredibly valuable for real-time weather monitoring, especially in the event of hurricanes and severe storms.

How It’s Made:

The ABI is a highly sophisticated optical instrument made from mirrors, detectors, and filters. Its components include:

1. Telescope System: The ABI contains a reflective telescope system that collects and focuses incoming radiation (light) onto detectors.

2. Spectral Filters: The ABI uses various spectral filters to separate incoming light into its different spectral components (visible, infrared, etc.), allowing it to observe different atmospheric phenomena.

3. Detectors: The filtered light is detected by a series of sensitive detectors that convert the radiation into electronic signals. These detectors are specially designed to capture different wavelengths and provide data on temperature, moisture, and other variables.

4. Cooling System: The ABI also uses an advanced cryogenic cooling system to keep the detectors at optimal temperatures for accurate readings.

Assembly and Testing:

L3Harris assembled the ABI in its facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It underwent rigorous testing to ensure that it could operate in the harsh space environment, including tests for vibration, thermal stress, and radiation resistance.

The most powerful hurricane ever recorded based on sustained wind speeds is Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Patricia reached peak sustained winds of 215 mph (345 km/h), making it the strongest tropical cyclone ever measured in the Western Hemisphere. It made landfall on Mexico’s Pacific coast, but despite its extreme power, the mountainous terrain reduced its impact on densely populated areas, limiting widespread devastation.

In terms of the lowest central pressure, another measure of a hurricane's strength, Typhoon Tip in 1979 holds the record for the lowest pressure at 870 millibars (mb), making it the most intense tropical cyclone on record worldwide. Typhoon Tip struck the western Pacific Ocean, but fortunately, it weakened significantly before making landfall in Japan.

 Other Notable Hurricanes:

- Hurricane Katrina (2005): Although not the most powerful, Katrina is infamous for the catastrophic damage it caused in New Orleans due to flooding.

- Hurricane Irma (2017): With winds reaching 180 mph, Irma was one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record.

Hurricane Dorian (2019) devastated the Bahamas with winds up to 185 mph and caused widespread destruction.