Rebuilding coastal communities after hurricanes is complex, and can change the character of a place

HORSESHOE BEACH, Fla. — Before Hurricane Idalia smashed into a small fishing village in northwestern Florida, Charles Long, 68, was fixing up a two-bedroom house for him and his wife. Retired pipe fitter Charles Long, 68, uses a borrowed mini excavator to put metal grating over a new septic field, as he converts his property into a pole barn for parking an RV, after the family vacation home he was fixing up to live in was swept away in last summer’s Hurricane Idalia, Saturday, May 11, 2024, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla. “I’m going to roll everything out of here” if another hurricane comes this year, Long said with a nervous chuckle, his face glistening with sweat. FILE - An empty lot, left, is all that remains where the two-bedroom vacation home that retired pipe fitter Charles Long had been fixing up to live in full time with his wife once stood, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023, one day after the passage of Hurricane Idalia. Town council member council member Brooke Hiers talks about the effect which Hurricane Idalia and other storms have had on Horseshoe Beach, Fla., as she drives through town, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. “These events are going to keep happening,” Brogan said, “especially for these coastal communities.” Recreational fishermen launch their boats from a ramp in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Saturday, May 11, 2024.