A hurricane-proof Florida city effortlessly weathered Hurricane Milton, while most of the state experienced immense destruction.
Babcock Ranch, a community that opened in 2018, suffered some traffic lights and downed trees, but was never without power during Milton.
The disastrous hurricane hit the Sunshine State last week, leaving more than three million residents without power and approximately 24 people dead, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Despite this, the Manhattan-sized city, built to withstand hurricane-force winds of over 150 miles per hour, stood tall and was not at all affected like other communities.
Still, the city made sure to prepare for the storm by converting a local school and sports facility into shelters for evacuees, as residents of nearby Fort Myers headed to Babcock Ranch for shelter.
Babcock Ranch, a community that opened its doors to residents in 2018, suffered some traffic lights and downed trees, but never lost power during Hurricane Milton.
The Manhattan-sized city, built to withstand hurricane-force winds of more than 150 miles per hour, stood tall and was not at all affected like other communities. (pictured: Dark skies hovering over the city just before the storm hit)
Syd Kitson, a former NFL player for the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys, co-founded the city and applauded Gov. Ron DeSantis for informing Floridians that Babcock Ranch was open so people could evacuate.
‘When Governor Ron DeSantis announced that Babcock Ranch was open, we saw a huge increase in evacuees.
“It saved a lot of lives in some really dangerous areas,” Kitson said. The New York Times.
About 400 people went to a K-12 school, while another 1,600 took shelter at the city’s sports complex.
In addition to being able to withstand high winds, the city also has 150 megawatt solar farms and an underground transmission system that keeps the community’s electricity strong with little to no power loss.
About 90 percent of the land at Babcock Ranch is built on preserved wetlands, which helps collect excess water, rarely causing flooding.
Downed trees seen at Babcock Ranch after storm
‘Mother Nature will always rule. But what we’re trying to do is mitigate that risk as much as possible and make our community as resilient as possible,” Kitson told the outlet.
In an effort to help those affected by the storm, the community came together and donated essential items.
People gathered to drop off donations, while enjoying food trucks, bouncy castles and face painting on Saturday.
“A big thank you to everyone who came out tonight and generously donated items for those affected by Hurricane Milton,” the city’s Instagram page said in a post.
“Your kindness and support mean a lot to our neighbors in need.”
The last hurricane to hit the state was not the first that Babcock Ranch survived, as Hurricane Ian passed through it in 2022.
Although surrounding communities experienced approximately $115 billion in insured and uninsured housing losses, the city again suffered minor damage, Kitson revealed.
He and many residents even sheltered in their homes during the storm.
Syd Kitson, former NFL player for the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys, co-founded the city after purchasing it in 2006.
The city also has 150 megawatt solar farms and an underground transmission system that keeps the community’s electricity strong with little to no power loss.
Kitson, president and CEO of real estate development company Kitson & Partners, purchased Babcock Ranch in 2006.
He was named TIME’s 2023 ‘Dreamer of the Year’ for his ‘dedication to environmental responsibility and his investment in people and the community for a better tomorrow,’ according to Babcock Ranch Website.
Homes in the community range from $300,000 to more than $4 million, and up to 10 percent of the properties could be reserved for affordable housing in the future, a city representative told the New York Times.
With hurricane season a month away and after two consecutive storms, Kitson emphasized that other Florida communities must consider sustainability and climate change options to save their people and towns.
“What we need is for more communities to build with sustainability and climate resilience in mind,” Kitson said.
“Only then will we see insurance providers change their algorithms to reflect the safety that a city like Babcock Ranch offers.”
A housing development in Cortez, known as Hunters Point, managed to keep the lights on in 31 homes equipped with solar battery systems that lasted for days after Milton made landfall.
Destruction from Hurricane Milton is seen at a mobile home community in Englewood, Florida, on Sunday.
Marshall Gobuty, founder and president of Hunters Point, which is about half the size of Babcock Ranch, told the outlet there was “satisfaction” in using sustainability techniques to weather major storms.
‘There is a lot of damage, debris and flooding around us. There is no happiness, but there is satisfaction of having done the right thing,” Gobuty said.
Although he originally planned to build a mobile home park on the property, Gobuty soon partnered with the University of Central Florida and the US Green Building Council to build energy-powered homes.
It plans to build 55 more homes, costing between $1.25 million and $1.6 million, by February 2025.
‘We are pioneers in this stage. But this should be the norm in housing construction,” he said.
Just before Milton reached Siesta Key on Wednesday, it was downgraded to a Category 3 storm.
While Milton did not cause the catastrophic surge of seawater that was feared in Florida, the cleanup operation could take many weeks or months for some people.
Insured losses from Hurricane Milton are likely to range between $30 billion and $60 billion, according to Morningstar DBRS analyst Marcos Alvarez.