Severe weather events are recurring challenges shaping the future of Florida’s economy, communities, and households. With three-quarters of the state’s residents living in counties along the coast, Florida sits on the frontlines of hurricanes, flooding, and storm surge. Yet this position of risk also makes Florida a model for how regions can prepare, adapt, and thrive despite these challenges. 

Resilience is not simply about limiting damage. It is about sustaining growth, protecting jobs, and ensuring Florida’s competitiveness in the decades ahead. The numbers are clear: every $1 not invested in hurricane preparedness costs more than $7 in lost economic activity; every $1 not spent on flood protection results in more than $25 lost in the future. Inaction carries a steep price—declines in GDP, business closures, housing instability, and long-term erosion of community viability.

Florida has the opportunity to lead. By reforming its regulatory framework, modernizing its building code, and catalyzing resilience-focused innovation, the state can turn vulnerability into strength. With smart choices, Florida can demonstrate to the nation—and the world—that resilience is the foundation of long-term prosperity.

Communities

Florida communities ignore resilience at their own peril. When hurricanes or floods strike, the economic ripple effects are staggering. For example, even if investments in resilience (e.g., enhancing building codes, optimizing land-use regulations, protecting key infrastructure, implementing pre-disaster planning) cut damages from a $100 billion storm by half, impacted communities would still lose $11 billion in GDP and 59,000 jobs, with nearly 28,000 residents leaving permanently. Floods follow a similar pattern: a $1 billion flood, even with strong defenses, can still wipe out nearly $1 billion in GDP.

Severe weather also damages public infrastructure—disrupting drinking water, electricity, sewage systems, major bridges, and highways—delaying emergency response and public safety services to residents in the wake of a storm. The tourism industry, the lifeblood of countless Florida counties and cities as a source of governmental revenue, is also highly vulnerable. In addition, natural disasters disproportionately affect low-income residents, deepening poverty cycles, and can even impact schools, potentially leading to long-term reductions in student learning.

Building stronger resilience means safeguarding communities’ ability to provide essential services, sustain local revenue, and ensure that vulnerable residents are not left behind. 

Businesses

For businesses, storms bring physical damage and prolonged disruption. For example, nearly 60% of Florida’s small businesses were in Hurricane Milton’s path, impacting nearly 1.5 million employees. In fact, up to 40% of small businesses never reopen following a major disaster.

Business interruption losses often exceed property damage losses by 900%. Supply chains falter, fuel shortages appear, and ports take weeks to recover, even if closed for only a few days. Over time, exposure to repeated severe weather events can drive companies to direct investment and talent away from Florida.

Resilience is a business investment strategy. Hardening infrastructure, diversifying supply chains, and strengthening energy reliability are essential to keep Florida competitive in the national and global marketplace. Moreover, it is a way to further enhance our brand and reinforce that Florida is the best state in the country to do business.

Homeowners

For Florida’s families, resilience is a question of security and affordability. Severe weather can mean lost homes, higher property insurance premiums, and declining property values. Moreover, Florida leads the nation with the highest home insurance costs, a result of the state’s storm exposure. Property devaluation related to severe weather is projected at $10 billion to $30 billion by 2030, and up to $80 billion by 2050.

Meanwhile, displaced homeowners increase the demand for rental housing and put further pressure on affordability. For homeowners, resilience measures like stronger building materials, flood protections, and insurance incentives can mean the difference between stability and financial strain. For Florida, they are essential to protecting housing markets and ensuring continued economic growth.