Florida communities hit three times by hurricanes grapple with how and whether to rebuild

Associated Press/Report for America

HORSESHOE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — It was just a month ago that Brooke Hiers left the state-issued emergency trailer where her family had lived after Hurricane Idalia slammed into her home on Florida’s Gulf Coast in August of 2023. Then Hurricane Helene crashed ashore. For the third time in 13 months, a 50-mile (80-kilometer) sliver of the state’s vast coastline took a direct hit from a hurricane. The back-to-back hits are forcing residents to reckon with the costs of living in an area under siege by storms that researchers say are becoming stronger because of climate change.