A tattered American flag flies from the remains of a waterfront home that was swept away by last year’s Hurricane Idalia, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla.HORSESHOE BEACH, Fla. — Lisa Bregenzer’s waterfront home was her “little slice of heaven.” She watched sunsets and migrating birds from the porch, the Gulf of Mexico in the distance. There, she felt close to God and her late father.
To live along the coast in a time of climate change is to contend with increasing vulnerabilities. Seas are rising and warming up, eroding coastlines, intensifying storms and making floods a more frequent occurrence. Horseshoe residents say they are proud of strong community bonds and sunsets that paint the sky brilliant hues. Homes approaching $1 million are interspersed with some as low as $50,000. Historically, it’s a place where a blue collar worker could live by the sea.
Hurricane Hermine in 2016, and before that, the so-called Storm of the Century in 1993, caused widespread damage. People sold their properties. Some houses went up on stilts. In 1993, Tina Brotherton lost her marina and the cafe next door, and had to replace the floors and beds at her inn. Most of the damaged buildings were on the waterfront, she recalled.Brotherton, 88, said she doesn’t plan to rebuild this time.
Eileen Lilley, 75, is living in a camper after 5 feet of water damaged her home. On a recent day, she spoke of her late husband and missing the screened porch where she liked to paint. Despite the longing, she feels safe knowing her mobile home can be moved when another hurricane strikes. Then just last week, Bregenzer finally found hope. Her family was approved for a program that will help them build a new home. If all goes as planned, they’ll move into an stilted two-bedroom house on their lot by year’s end.