As Hurricane Season Approaches, Rebuilding Florida is Not a Want, but a Must Have

As hurricane season creeps up, analyzing how Florida programs have helped thousands of families get their homes fixed can offer insight into what effective action can look like across the nation as more& than half of America’s Black population live in the South and are more likely to face climate change disasters.Natural weather events are not new. But now, at the start of another hurricane season, it’s important to dive into the history of what that has meant to our communities and what can be done to uplift them. The severity and intensity of hurricanes have only increased as rapid intensification, a key process to turn cyclones into hurricanes, happened three times more often in 2020 than in 1980. Hurricanes disproportionately affect low-income, Black communities and other communities of color. The most recent hurricane to hit Florida’s west coast was Hurricane Idalia, a Category 3 storm that caused $3.6 billion in damage, concentrated in the Big Bend region and also affected Southern Georgia.More than half of America’s population of African-Americans live in the South and are more likely to feel the disastrous effects of climate change. Facing economic insecurity, low-income communities, though seasoned budgeters, typically feel the brunt of economic...