See how this Florida town survived Ian unscathed

[@jonathananderkin7151]

The engineer lady gave me chills a very thoughtful lady

[@luciusrex]

ya the moment she says "we build to wind loads and stress tests" I'm like k ya this is a smart town. gotta love it, hopefully more towns like this pop up there in the US and here in Canada

[@powerboon2k]

lol like she is the only engineer to think of this...they are rich white people who have built themselves a little utopia away from the riff-raff...they are not to be lauded. If people think this is the answer to climate change then no wonder we are doomed (which we are 100%).

[@nottheone582]

i especially liked what she said about not feeling guilty because they were able to help others. imagine if everyone in florida was this resilient? hurricanes would be no problem

[@ltv..123]

Yeah it’s amazing that they LET women be engineers huh ….Einstein?…………

[@signalfire6]

@@luciusrex Check out the prices. They need to build under $100K houses without the high taxes, HOA fees and other 'amenities' that they can charge for. This is a housing development for millionaires and near-millionaires, even for the smallest condos in their listings. Safety shouldn't be expensive.

[@Dennyh025]

Just the fact that not 1 solar panel got blown away is totally impressive.

[@mrrey8937]

but, you havent heard about all the EV's that have been burning for days because they got flooded.

[@peterphan227]

@@mrrey8937 No that's not true. Today's EVs are IP certified to sustain submersion. In fact, they can withstand submersion far better than gas combustion engines that require air intake to operate. Electric vehicles don't need air intake to run. Their batteries and motors can be sealed.

[@jflo7674]

@@mrrey8937What's your point?

[@Joshua-fg8mz]

@@mrrey8937 oh and gas power ones did just fine right?

[@mrrey8937]

@@Joshua-fg8mz Mine is........

[@highflowerfairy2554]

He needs to talk about it a lot. Florida needs to rebuild using this model. This is beautiful.

[@loralarose9615]

And solar don’t work under ice it don’t snow in Florida wait till a tornado come lol 😂not allow Florida hit the same if the water would one inthey be u see water too and all the poison in the solar panel get in there water 💦

[@DEBrown1971]

Notice they kept the wetlands WILD...I am betting that their conservation efforts also buffered them from effects of the hurricane

[@dfloyd2279]

Exactly the one thing constantly destroyed in California

[@aviewer9516]

ABSOLUTELY! This is where you don't screw with nature and take away things that are there for a reason.

[@thomthom6268]

No bet needed. Concept tested and proved. Learn people.

[@randibgood]

It's very necessary to keep them, otherwise any storm will erode more and more of the coast and make it more vulnerable. These folks built the right way, that's for sure.

[@jamescoleakaericunderwood2503]

Absolutely correct... Mangroves are a natural buffer ...read that in a National Geographic magazine 40 years ago

[@Cheznrice]

The smart people should not feel guilty for making good decisions!

[@williamelewis464]

@@702thomas Lol 😂 Thomas here didn’t make good life choices apparently

[@taylorfox6436]

@@702thomas Get off youtube and out of your mother's basement and you too could be rich.

[@TheBlueThird]

@@702thomas They're not rich and privileged. They just planned for their future by making wise energy (as well as infrastructure) decisions. Other communities can do the same thing.

[@Metal0sopher]

They always do, while the dumb are proud of their bad decisions. This is the root cause of all the world's problems since the beginning of time.

[@pn2543]

America as a whole could be like this if we were allowed to be rational and the MSM did not reward ignoramuses with publicity

[@mattrobinson47]

Babcock Ranch: finally someone was wise enough to build a solar powered community IN FLORIDA where the sun never takes a day off. Good for them!

[@moniqueengleman873]

The Republicans will make this a conspiracy theory. Well done Babcock.

[@Baker_king12]

As a person who lives in Florida….. the sun certainly does take days off. Although my solar panels do their job I’m happy I’m grid tied as there are times my storage doesn’t carry through.

[@randibgood]

​@@Baker_king12 Then you just need more/larger batteries, right?

[@mrrey8937]

until a direct hurricane hit comes along. Perhaps the next one, that guy will be saying the same thing, thinking his solar panels are protecting him and he gets a direct hit from a hurricane and a 70 to 80 gusting winds.

[@ericstevens8131]

No one thinks their solar panels are going to protect them Mr. Rey. No one has said it but you, troll. It was the engineering and construction of the homes that saved them. Apparently the same was true for the solar panels that also withstood the hurricane. Wind speeds of 100mph were reported in Babcock Ranch. Go troll somewhere else.

[@kcuzz4091]

What a perfect example of a self-sufficient community built to take 150-157 mph winds. This could be the future all over our country if certain people would just start supporting it and working towards this goal. I love it!

[@whyputaname]

👍👍. Agree

[@Baba-fy1jc]

In the Next Time comes it harder,that is the begin and not the End ,the Big Chaos is here on the Way that comes in the Future . That is all not so good or so Pefeckt and with a Symbiotic with the Nature, has the Human or that all here Nothing to do. So can the Nature not Stabilize his Ecosystems, that is here more as good Visible ,but not for all People.

[@randibgood]

The bought and paid for climate deniers need to just stop. Realize they can't take that money with them. And do better for future generations.

[@jillfeatherman5523]

Not everyone has sun (or wind) year round.

[@RodericSpode]

Unfortunately those certain people would rather look to the past instead of create a better future.

[@kippis05]

I live in Babcock Ranch and can say that much of what saved us from what surrounding areas suffered was the redundant water and power utility built underground. This was not mentioned in the piece, but perhaps one of the most important set of factors. It would be great if other communities could model this, but the capital cost of creating systems like these in built up areas is impractical in places like Fort Myers and Naples. Patchworks maybe, but you’ll never get to this type of model unless you completely tear down and start over. And that won’t happen. Imagine if another storm like Sandy pummeled coastal NY. I suspect the outcome would be much the same as it was in 2012.

[@rennyotolinna2863]

The kind of answer you give is precisely the same one that the mainstream has given year after year, and then to rebuild and lose lives: it's expensive, insurance, it won't happen to me, why spend... and then what happens happens, lose thousands and thousands, lose lives, etc. Who does not see the best cost/benefit ratio and better living, is because he has a very short vision. Here they are proving those assumptions wrong. It is true that it would cost, but there are better methods that can be applied without rebuilding everything, that is the job of engineering. Everything that hurricanes and tornadoes damage, is unusable, wet and almost nothing is recycled, it just goes to a landfill, that does not benefit anyone but the sellers of construction materials, but not the people and the country, that is with the idea that disposable is better for business. And what was mentioned about NY, of course, if nothing is done it can happen again, obviously. But if you can't prevent it from happening, you can minimize the consequences, that's what Japan does, that once their tragedies happen, they look for ways to do it, with quite reasonable results.

[@mdcbilt4686]

And yet the amazing thing is so much of the infrastructure has been pretty much leveled aka torn down. Rebuild it right this time! (They won't for stupid reasons) More importantly don't rebuild on the barrier islands. Strip Sanibel and all the other islands clean and make them a state park.

[@dcrcort]

youre a republican huh

[@itsmainelyyou5541]

This is the perfect time for many areas.

[@starshine3588]

kippis05 Finally an intelligent comment. This news story should have explained all this just like you said…but they didn’t because they are only interested in pushing a certain agenda…and the agenda for this report was “solar panels”. They made it sound like because of the solar panels this community didn’t have damage from the storm….when it was the surrounding water areas that saved them from storm surge. Plus the fact that it depends exactly where the storm eye goes in and which side of the storm you are on that determines how much damage you get. I’ve been through many hurricanes and it’s common that one place be flattened while the town 10 or 15 miles away be perfectly fine…maybe a few shingles missing or a few trees down…but this news report fails to state those facts.

[@sethfroman7044]

How all cities in Florida or hurricane prone areas should be built. This is pretty remarkable. Not one damn solar panel breaking is amazing.

[@myballsitchsomethingfierce6319]

250 billion and it could be done

[@RedRocket4000]

Florida coast areas will be going under water with sea level rise. And if world does not handle climate change almost all of Florida going under water. The actual answer is don't build in flood planes, don't build on the coast and don't build under 50 to 100 ft up. Ports will need Dikes to function.

[@moonknightj5797]

forgetting all the republicans who would cry over big government surveilling their electricity. any form of good change is lightyears away with the politicians here.

[@moonknightj5797]

Rick Scott current senator former governor for the state of florida BANNED the use of the word “climate change” as its destroying his own state. Lightyears away from positive change.

[@sethfroman7044]

@@myballsitchsomethingfierce6319 only about a 1/3 of the annual defense budget lol

[@youngum78]

Kudos to this community. An environmentally conscious, proactive and progressive community that was prepared. Not exactly what comes to mind when you think of Florida.

[@sarahjames927]

Yeah, rich people will have that advantage 🙄😂.

[@davidrobertsemail]

Chinese solar panels made by slave labor.

[@nicolascardillo7615]

Florida is a chip and tax-free state, in almost every other state it will cost them 5 times more, takes an extra 5-10 years to make, or out flat they would have not been alow to build it. Sadly as u saw, even when he proposed to build this community the city force him to give the land to them, to pay for those solar panels that cost 1/4 the price now.

[@bobh1208]

It's possible that this community got it right on the wetlands, and didn't do the typical hit job on Florida of "We will benevolently preserve what we deem the functioning wetlands, if you let us destroy what we deem the nonfunctioning wetlands"... the latter of which, though rarely wet, are actually exactly what is needed, to absorb the water much faster than suburbia can, when you get on the wrong side (the rainy side, in this case) of a super storm... and this community, fortunately for them, was NOT on the rainy side of this storm. Not through any feat of engineering (other than building away from the coast where the storm surge hit... though the scam there can be to buy cheap land in the "outback" and sweet talk the local politicians into extending the urban services district to it, at existing taxpayers expense). So, don't be too sure that this isn't propaganda for other speculators... or that, even IF this community was founded with the best of intentions, that speculators going forward don't try to use its buzzwords without its planning.

[@ntsakobaloyi6965]

@@bobh1208 Insightful.

[@jasonjimerson7046]

There is a lesson to be learned here, and sadly, I feel most still will not understand what that lesson is.

[@whyputaname]

That's when you refer them to Babcock Ranch Florida..

[@Rubyclaygirl]

They refuse to learn, they want to be Right so badly they're killing themselves

[@elliesummer5249]

Yes, live off the coast and build to cat 5 and make sure your electrical is underground..We never lost power where we are either because our power is underground, we lost a couple of shingles and a couple of cedar bushes, but friends of ours lost their homes, vehicles everything here! It has nothing to do with solar…

[@mantis10_surf85]

Grabcock ranch seems pretty cool and fruity

[@lillic8522]

It will probably cost more to build in that enforced way - that can be financed with smaller buildings in the beginning. If they need more room, that can always be added, but it is important to have at least a part of the house stormproof.

[@coleengoodell7523]

This is what build back better looks like. What an amazing engineer and role model. God bless them for helping others during this very difficult time.

[@powerboon2k]

Are you actually blessing them to God for being rich and having solar power that was bolted down tight?

[@coleengoodell7523]

@@powerboon2k No, for helping others when they don't have to.

[@redstarchrille]

@@powerboon2k solar power is not expensive.. if you are not unemployed and live in a poor country

[@carlfichtner8148]

And what will blessings do for them from the invisible man in the sky ? Can gawd help starving children in third world countries ?? Do 2000 years of praying stop school shootings ??

[@cosmo2852]

@@carlfichtner8148I'm sure the maniac parents of those usual suspects could stop school shootings, if they'd stop spewing violence in their rhetoric towards those who don't hold to their views that they demand.

[@MrJordanwain]

That’s a true feat of engineering! Massive respect to the engineers behind the community. I dare say it’s rated for much higher power storms.

[@bobh1208]

Admirable goals when gone about honestly, which I'm not questioning has been done in this case... but, to be honest, the south side of Ian, which had the onshore winds, and thus caused the storm surge obliteration on Ft. Myers Beach, was much drier in terms of rain than the north side of Ian, because dry air had gotten wrapped around the west and then south side of the hurricane, from above the front to the north. So, they just got lucky in terms of flooding... although if they truly have preserved all the wetlands on the property, any flood would have eventually ebbed somewhat sooner than otherwise... but, the flood damage to the houses would still have been similar (though there are of course plenty of more reliable reasons to preserve wetlands).

[@whywhywhy1266]

@@bobh1208 Great analysis. This story is very misleading.

[@unclequack5445]

Please, this is no miracle only the very edges of the storm hit here; no way did shingle roof's stand up to 155 mph winds sustained it didn't happen.

[@snookman9920]

@@bobh1208 Agree 100%. This story is BS hype.

[@adamstevens1204]

Build 35 feet above sea-level. Fucking brilliant

[@kismet2354]

And what is amazing is that all their power lines are underground! Bravo 🎉

[@pn2543]

wow, this needs to go viral!

[@L._Diaz]

I love this! If I ever had to move to Florida this would be the place and this alone. This is the kind of engineering every town needs across America.❤

[@KevinP32270]

AGREED.

[@maumor2]

Babcokc has been there for almost 20 years and not that many buyers. Why move to Florida to live 40 miles away from the beach? might as well come visit once a year for a couple weeks stay in a nice beachfront hotel and go back home

[@Ominousheat]

Makes one wonder why DeSantis isn't using this as a vote winner. He truly seems useless as a politician.

[@janelis156]

@@Ominousheat because the rest of the south west coast is destroyed

[@lauraholzler1417]

Jennifer Langlow is my hero! I've heard about your community. You guys kick butt!

[@bernadettehomerski3561]

I do hope their experience and their knowledge will be transferred to those who will be working on the rebuild!

[@knyghtsword]

Honestly it's sad but I seriously doubt this lady engineer would be consulted. They want to build back quickly probably not really thinking about doing it differently.

[@pn2543]

700,000 solar panels, 150 Megawatts, 2000 homes, wow,

[@334honda]

And no homeless on the sidewalks or in tents.

[@davefoc]

This is an awesome story. A part of the disaster for Florida that hasn't been talked about much is the possibility of a vast reduction in property values because a lot of Florida will be judged as uninhabitable in the face of more common hurricanes and rising sea levels. These people have pointed the way for a kind of construction that might make that less true. Also, loved the structural engineer. I was an engineer that grew up at a time when women engineers almost didn't exist. I thought that might be because women for the most part couldn't be engineers. Alas, one more thing in my life that I have been massively wrong about and I'm happy about that in this case.

[@digiryde]

lol - I have a very feisty mother. She always said there are two things women cannot do that men can do. 1) Be sperm donors. 2) Make men grow up.

[@ianhomerpura8937]

Lower property values would be great in solving the housing crisis though. Yes please.

[@cindyjohnson5242]

@@digiryde I told my girls that too!! One is an BSEE, one is MS biomedical engineer, one is an MSRN. I pushed the math and science!

[@digiryde]

@@cindyjohnson5242 Good for you! My mom was a elementary science teacher. My father a Physics teacher. She was a teacher back in the days when being pregnant was a bad moral message (yeah, even if you were married), and single female teachers were considered 'loose' if they were around men without a chaperone. The good old days... May God save us from ever going back to those days again.

[@RedRocket4000]

This construction will not help at all when it's under the Ocean. Nothing should be build in FL until we are sure Green House gas under control

[@joeanderson8839]

Every community should be built to withstand the storms of the present and storms of the future. It is possible.

[@citypavement]

Anything is possible with enough money. Although I agree with you, it's politically impossible to get the kind of agreement you'd need for that.

[@redstarchrille]

@@citypavement There is already subsides for green power. But rebublicans that have money in the oil industry is fearing they will lose their money. So it's constantly under attack.

[@RedRocket4000]

Yes if you build 100 ft up otherwise sooner or later the total melt off of all ice will put you under water and maybe more than 100 ft. I dont' see Global Warming being stopped.

[@mpinline1]

Nobody mentioned the most important point on why they never lost power - their electric wires are underground. Nothing for the wind to blow and snap. Just like in Japan.

[@kismet2354]

In Singapore too! No ugly messy power lines dangling above roadways anywhere in that amazing City State.

[@touch2ndgen]

You can still lose power with underground wiring,

[@kismet2354]

@@touch2ndgen but chances are WAAAAAAAYYYYYY better that it won’t happen as proven by multiple countries all over the World unlike backward America.

[@gatoryak7332]

It's expensive to bury power lines, especially over long distances. That's why distributed power generation, like the the solar system at Babcock Ranch is critical. The cables are shorter and carry less power, therefore they can be smaller and they suffer less transmission loss.

[@kismet2354]

@@gatoryak7332 ….and it’s “cheap” to constantly repair down lines; fires & death that may occur with the above scenario? Not to mention the inconvenience to households when Blackouts occur as a result of electricity disruptions? Give me a break! Small wonder the United States grid system is the laughing stock of most forward thinking & advance Countries around the World! It’s positively archaic!🤣😂

[@markreed9853]

Did anyone notice there were no cables on poles above ground, well not that I saw anyway? - it's the way we do local power and phone lines here in the UK as well.

[@Hgood1]

This video should be seen by every American, especially science deniers.

[@rebeccadubois8270]

It probably wouldn't matter. Because if you didn't come to your conclusions through evidence. Then no evidence is going to make that person change their mind. Anti science is rampant in USA :(

[@ritaperdue]

This is the future folks! Please let's ALL get on board 😍

[@Rosie05610]

Can you make solar panels without fossil fuels? Meanwhile, you can't have renewables without fossil fuels. Materials derived from petrochemicals are critical to the production of solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries. OH but on the other hand, and seventh, a world with both fossil fuels and renewables could make the world cleaner and the planet healthier.

[@julialaw6471]

If you can afford the 40k to install your solar panels. He's lucky his roof didn't come off!

[@ritaperdue]

@@Rosie05610 do you know that anything plastic from oil can be made with hemp? Yup, oil crap going the way of the dinosaurs 😍

[@ritaperdue]

@@julialaw6471 they are way cheaper now, unless you fall for someone ripping you off

[@jacob.forrest_]

@@julialaw6471 100%. Solar used to be very expensive in the old days. However, nowadays it’s completely different. Instead of paying your monthly utility bill, you simply pay a lower monthly bill that stays fixed. You’re just replacing your current bill for a lower one instead of paying thousands out of pocket.

[@blondine4802]

Inland towns like Lehigh acres Immokalee, Ave Maria, were fine. It really only hit the coastal areas

[@ve2166]

That’s a general statement. We are inland. Immokalee is more inland than BR. Lehigh is about the same and there were some places that lost power for sure. Many people are using lost power and we opened our shelter for them. I don’t know anyone living in BR that lost power and I live here.

[@houghtonstreet3392]

My name is Ian and I am very kind

[@siestam44]

This would be extra impressive if it was in the flood zone. We fared about the same here in West of I75 in Sarasota, just lost power for 2 days so the solar part is great. Point is Babcock Ranch is so far inland that the story isn’t as extraordinary as it appears.

[@jval75816]

I hope we can all live like this!

[@334honda]

I bet they don't let people sleep on the sidewalk or in tents be there in town.

[@annmarieknapp2480]

This gives me hope. We can think ahead and be better prepared.

[@Marvin-fn7ks]

Sandoval community in Cape Coral which is only about 3/4 mile from the gulf waters had very little damage and no storm surge . I think the man made interconnected lakes and modern home construction made a big difference there. They were without power for a few days . Babcock Ranch is newer and much further inland which helps . Drainage is so important in these areas.

[@firebird2]

Babcock Ranch should get more exposure! (Sorry, pun intended - I would love to hear more about this community and it's engineer). This is not your grandfather's solar tech, but a real time demonstration of what is possible in the 21st century.

[@whyputaname]

Yes, 👍👍

[@powerboon2k]

Do you have any idea the amount of money/privilege you need to live there? And wtf was your "grandfathers solar tech"? My Grandfather grew up on a farm and burned peat to warm his house. Live in the real world for a bit sometime.

[@vysharra]

My grandfather was a Missouri dirt farmer. He was lucky to have electricity at all. This is the future of rich people being insulated from the consequences of their unsustainable lifestyles.

[@firebird2]

@@vysharra there are always nay sayers, complainers and critics who want everyone to live hard lives. Look at common place things today that were once "only for the rich" - airplane travel, automobiles, telephones, computers, heart transplants, and so on and so on. Research and development is expensive. At first only wealthy people have access. Do you think this is a good reason to shoot down innovation? Fifty years ago solar technology was very basic and actually not expensive, but it wasn't practical in extreme weather conditions. This community survived a-once-in-500-year storm. Isn't that incredible? It shows that all the people who say renewable, "clean" energy is unreliable that the technology exists to make this a better alternative to the past ways of buildung. The world is changing and there are many innovative ideas that respond to these changes and are proving to be worthwhile. But hey, don't dream, don't applaud creative ideas, look back not forward it is no skin off my back.

[@gatoryak7332]

@@powerboon2k I hate whiners. How about you? And yes, I do know how much money one needs to live in Babcock Ranch, because I looked at their website. There are houses and condos that go for more than $100K less than the national median house price.

[@shalinitrivedi7571]

As a civil engineer, gotta love how CNN just completely glossed over the whole interconnected lakes part. The solar panels would have been useless if they'd flooded. That's the key to the whole place - managing the water!

[@twmayo714]

Looking at how upright the young trees are, this town did not sustain anywhere near 150 mph winds. Being inland really protects you from the majority of damage.

[@GlenaGarrett]

Did you not listen to the story? Babcock Ranch not far inland, is only 12 miles from Fort Myer. It got hit the same. The advantage was not distance, it was deliberate planning using wetlands to protect from storm surge long with being located about 25 ft average above sea level combined with protected power infrastructure (engineered solar & underground lines).

[@twmayo714]

@@GlenaGarrett I promise you the advantage was being inland. Underground utilities are very important. Solar is cool, but one can look at the trees in this video and tell that they did not get anywhere near 150 mph winds. Storm surge did most of the damage in this storm and they were too far inland to get that

[@huszarokkyzhe3695]

@@GlenaGarrett I was in the eye wall for Hurricane Ian for 6 hours straight, in the Northwest quadrant, where we had sustained winds of 180+ mph. Gusts were marked over 200 and after that, they had malfunctioned because of the storm pressure. Babcock ranch saw NOTHING of the likes that the coastal areas saw. I don't care if it was 15 miles from Fort Myers. Babcock ranch is a huge community and I would venture to say it spans over 20 Square miles. The moral of the story is not that they survived because of preparation, they survived merely because Babcock Ranch wasn't Fort Myers Beach or Sanibel.

[@GlenaGarrett]

@@twmayo714 Granted they are a bit further inland but they still got a lot of it. And way less damage than if they had not been prepared with good engineering and protetected power supply.

[@gatoryak7332]

Why are so many of you whining about the community being a few miles from the coast? That is a smart strategy - one of many that the developers of Babcock Ranch implemented.

[@veronicapeart-johnson3531]

Maybe this is how communities should be built back in Florida. SMART 👍🏽

[@ra8937]

Wow! What an architectural and civil engineering win! Amazing! The entire country can be this. I literally just got my tesla solar and battery installed a week ago. So, this story makes me feel good. But over all just very impressed with this developer and this community. Good job.

[@aaronaustrie]

This is true definition of resilience!!

[@JohninTucson]

I live in a 34 foot class A RV with the roof covered in solar panels, and a huge Lithium battery bank. I paid a lot of $$$ to do it so I could run everything (including AC, fridge, etc) without ever having to run my generator. I live in SE Arizona and we have had some amazing electrical storms this summer that have continually knocked out the power down here. I NEVER lost power since I am off-grid, and I never started my generator even once to top up my battery bank, and I never altered my lifestyle to save power either. People laughed at me, calling me a fool for spending a lot of $$$ in order to be able to do this - yet who's laughing now??? It's too bad that folks don't understand the value behind living off-grid. No power bill and the ability to live in total comfort year-around is a no-brainer in my opinion. I'm sorry the people in Florida are suffering from the hurricane and wish them peace moving forward. Perhaps we'll see more folks adding this simple solution of adding solar and a large Lithium battery bank when they rebuild their homes, it's a terrific way to live and know that you will be just fine when the power goes down for days to weeks at a time.

[@danstrayer111]

How many amp-hrs is your battery bank to support AC in Tucson? When it's 95 at ten oclock at night are you still running your AC? I have been in and out of that city for many years and always marveled at how few people take advantage of solar. I am on solar for 25 years in Idaho but we almost never need AC, so it's super easy and cheap to go solar, esp with advances in LEDs.

[@lizz1102]

Wow! Fabulous story! Same thing here in Colorado where we can get some scary hale storms. You'd think hale would decimate solar panels but they actually protect roofs!

[@sparkleevenmore9638]

Depends on the size of the hailstone but hail does indeed destroy solar panels

[@allwheeldrive]

@@sparkleevenmore9638 Would love to see the info on that. Please provide! Thanks.

[@davidwelty9763]

The solar power was not the saving grace, it’s the fact that the power lines were underground. Lakewood ranch just north of Fort Meyers is not solar but has underground power lines kept the power on as well.

[@joshualieberman2265]

Also helps that they are literally 25 miles inland and got hit by a mid catagory 3 hurricane at best and felt no storm surge because of how far inland they were

[@Hail_Sagan]

Very cool town, but they are too far away and did not get the worst of the storm like the areas a little closer to the coast did. I know many people even in parts of Fort Myers, well west of i-75, who also didn't even lose power or internet either. Having said that, glad to see Babcock was fortunate to have been spared the full brunt of hurricane Ian.

[@0230Raveena]

Absolutely impressive. This is a prime example of building smart and sustainably to combat the increasingly devastating effects of climate change. Built by engineers who use science as their foundation.

[@sarahlachman1349]

The community MUST be the blueprint for the areas destroyed by Ian. Build Back Better, and smarter

[@rebeccamd7903]

This is amazing. I hope it becomes affordable for everyone.

[@malcolmjelani3588]

Im sure its for rich folk

[@redstarchrille]

@@malcolmjelani3588 There is alway caves for the poor people :D

[@malcolmjelani3588]

@@redstarchrille there will always be the poor

[@ashelycharles9148]

Babcock Ranch didn't take a direct hit.. I live where it did.. its a crap story

[@YobazlarDevri]

Poor reporting... did not explain why buildings were not destroyed, why did not have flood damage, how solar panels did not get tossed around or have flood damage.

[@KelvinMarcano]

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾how much more proof do we need that this works

[@huszarokkyzhe3695]

Whoever wrote this story clearly lacks the understanding of Florida's geography, and more importantly, how the storm actually went down. I'm all for solar power, stricter building codes, and other environmentally friendly practices, but do not tell me that if this hurricane actually hit them head on like it did with Fort Myers, Sanibel, PG, and PC. Babcock Ranch was not saved because of their preparation for the storm, they were saved because the Hurricane didn't go their way. If it did, and if Babcock Ranch was situated near a river, they would look a lot more like Arcadia right now.

[@mwm48]

Civil Engineer here…I love this.

[@annmarieknapp2480]

I got solar months ago. Praying it will hold. Glad to see it worked down south.

[@Whatsthepoint6667]

The whole world needs qualified people like this...🙏👍

[@Bobby_Digital37]

This was awesome!

[@odonovan]

For those who don't know, Babcock Ranch is a community for the wealthy. The average price for a two bedroom house there would get you a four bedroom in an average area. Notice the guy interviewed had a Tesla and a Jaguar in his garage. How many of us can say the same? Of course, people with money can buy "hurricane rated" homes. Most of the rest of us will never be that fortunate.

[@tsimoi273]

Is this Florida? Unbelievable!

[@corey6393]

Those are million dollar homes with multi million dollar infrastructure. Not exactly attainable, affordable or sustainable. Had they been right on the coast, none of it would look as nice as it does, and it would have suffered greatly from the storms just like every place else. Also, the story makes it sound like solar power stopped flooding. Really?

[@DarkKnightLady]

We lost power for 5 days but I have ecoflow solar generators. Was really nice to have a mini refrigerator and extra power to charge the tv,and our devices. Small solar setup that give some comfort in the days.

[@unclequack5445]

Obviously, this area was never hit with 155 mph winds of course there's no damage.

[@ricci8497]

This is the standard to which housing shops and offices in such areas that are prone to extreme storms should be built to a lot of heartache would be saved on can it fail yes but the more areas that survive the quicker life returns to normal.

[@Californiagent]

Very nice

[@philemfulloflead]

Pretty cool. Would be nice to throw money towards stuff that ensures our survival instead of stuff to destroy us. I really can imagine a world where energy is just a switch flip away. Still tho this place is lucky. It's like where you see a tornado hit a town, making a path of destruction but decides to leave a house or barn or shed in its path unscathed. Really boggles the mind looking at the destruction around and seeing something that should look like all the rest.

[@willburrito9710]

I’m impressed there are solid forward thinkers and doers there. Accepting that the planet is in a crisis. I’m jealous. More Americans need to step up and make America Different.

[@4dbak]

Job well done Bill.

[@facitenonvictimarum]

Yeah those solar panels are great against hurricane force winds, storm surges and flood waters.

[@janhankins911]

The thing is making this stuff affordable for people. I'd love to live in that little community, but I bet I couldn't afford it (and my husband and I aren't poor, we're very middle class, but I'd be not wealthy enough to live there).

[@nightbest2308]

The cost of the stuff is affordable it is the labour that kills most persons. Also in some states they make you either sell all your solar generated electricity back to the electric company at a lower rate then you buy it or if that is not the case forces you to maintain a connection to the grid which costs money which add a cost.

[@gatoryak7332]

@@nightbest2308 I'm a huge proponent of solar power and worked in the industry for years. First, there are no areas that I am aware of that force individuals to sell all their power back to the utilities, unless the the utility or the local government paid for the solar equipment and its installation. In that case, the customers are allowing the utility to use their roofs in exchange for a discount on their power bills. Forcing utility companies to buy power at the same cost that they sell it is irresponsible and unsustainable. The utilities, by law must maintain transmission grids. Those are the same transmission grids that transmit electricity from one person's house to somewhere else one the grid. Utilities also must build, operate, and generation facilities that are sufficient to power all customers in times of no sun, and the system must work with close to 100% reliability, 24hrs/day, 365 days/year. If they are forced to buy electricity at retail rates, then they wouldn't have enough revenue to build and maintain the generation facilities and the transmission grids.

[@gatoryak7332]

If you afford a $300K home, then you live there with money to spare.

[@jagsboy3190]

The crazy part this place is 15 miles away we got more damage in DAYTONA FL then them close by NAPES wow ..

[@writerme]

A lot of people don't understand that collectively, we are all going to be paying for people to re-build their houses in the same locations, after the hurricane destroyed them (talk about Socialism!!). Private insurance is not going to pay for it because the private insurance companies in Florida have either gone out of business or refuse to cover flood damage. So those people are going to use federal programs to pay for the damage to their houses, which we all contribute to, through our taxes. So, we should mandate that those people rebuild their houses more sustainably, or provide building code updates to lessen the burden on the federal government whenever a hurricane rolls through to devastate Florida because it's going to happen more and more often, due to Climate Change. This community is proof that it can be done, but builders aren't going to do it on their own; they need to be REQUIRED to build their communities better.

[@brentharrington9235]

Was with you until you stated talking nonsense about climate change. Even the US government disagrees with you.

[@lynnjenkins8732]

@@brentharrington9235 you are one of those climate change deniers, and that's exactly why if you live in Florida your shit is now underwater.

[@gatoryak7332]

@@brentharrington9235 So you are still denying climate change due to global warming? That takes a huge leap into willful ignorance. The data clearly illustrate that the climate is changing. Even Republicans have acknowledged that. The few holdouts are some Trump cultists. And then there are the people who know that the climate is changing but make a big show of not believing it, because that would make the liberals right. Which are you?

[@sosoutherncustomequestrian4598]

I visited that community last spring and it was amazing. Food for thought for sure!

[@bleacherz7503]

See any gardening?

[@ravenrpg3865]

I'm wondering if it was closer to the shoreline if it would have been the opposite. That would be the real test. Either way this is fantastic.

[@whyputaname]

They shouldn't have never been allowed to build on the shoreline because of the damage that the storms can do.. It's not the Wind and Rain that kills it's the Surge of the Ocean..

[@nottodaycolonizer]

@@whyputaname exactly

[@Nellab777]

Agree

[@girlfromthebronxbywayofelb7288]

No, stop testing Mother Nature by building on the shoreline!! She's trying to tell you something, why won't you listen? Shoreline should be public space and wildlife/wetlands preserve. That way everyone can enjoy it. Build your fabulous house away from the beach and walk a few blocks.

[@ravenrpg3865]

@@girlfromthebronxbywayofelb7288 you're referring to "you" as if I had a house there or I was responsible for them building it.

[@YouD0ntSay]

Building houses with bricks and mortar instead of plywood and plaster board also helps.

[@jrbland18]

SENDING PRAYERS TO ALL

[@gatoryak7332]

Should've done that before Ian hit land.

[@nickisnyder3450]

Thank God for science and facts. I have been saying all along that while we all feel sorry for the people who lost their lives and possessions florida's poor planning is inexcusable. How can you live in a flood plain that is under 100 feet above sea level and not prepare for flooding? How can anyone live in a manufactured home or a trailer in a hurricane zone?

[@terri6745]

Cost

[@danstrayer111]

Double wide 2 blocks from the beach.....what the hell do they think is gonna happen?

[@floridaskiffcompany2558]

My area will not allow a trailer to be replaced once it has been destroyed. There were a few old snowbird trailer parks that have been around since the 60s. This area it is pretty rare to catch a big storm. But obviously hurricanes don’t follow rules

[@nickwoo2]

If only if it was more of a mixed use development with transit. Looks like a car dependent suburb. Awesome engineering though!

[@snteag]

Oh my gosh! This is amazing!! So impressive.

[@Never-mind1960]

Even children understand that when you build castles of sand at the beach, they wash out with the tide.

[@patticake5944]

An x footballer giving his own money to help. That's a refreshing idea. From the looks of the trees.... they didn't have a direct hit, but still, nice work.

[@monkeysluvdani]

This is a great selling feature for towns like this

[@jim_secrist]

my solar panel here in northern mn is at a angle where snow dosent stick it has and can rotate to get direct sun its cool and all but i only use it during summer time / store energy from it icase bad snow event

[@puppycat58]

How amazing is this....a well thought out town...with all those solar panels...unbelievable

[@Comeback180]

This is difference between folks who prepare for disasters versus othera who are reactive. The more you reduce a problem ahead of time the less you have to cleanup ans repair In the long run. Prevention = long term time saver.

[@digiryde]

"This is difference between folks who prepare for disasters versus othera who are reactive." So, basically, there are people who plan ahead and everyone else? ;)

[@mlee6842]

Pretty expensive for most of us though.....sad to say....

[@gatoryak7332]

@@mlee6842 And waterfront property in Ft. Myers is not super-expensive?

[@drena2671]

Spoken well ....Humble and Helpful 🙏🏽

[@billabong1621]

This community yes it has a lot of amenities inside of it but they don’t tell you how far it is away from the coast how far away it is from everything else. To me personally it feels as if I’m driving in the middle of nowhere and then all of a sudden this place appears. Sorry to say but if this community was near the coast I don’t believe it would have held up. However I am glad it did and that they can help provide assistance for those in need right now.

[@steven4315]

Wow, it's almost like building on the coast in a hurricane zone might be a bad idea.

[@jazminetowers7958]

They did not get hit as hard because their trees are still in tact too and nature also gets destroyed by the winds and rain, yet their surroundings were untouched

[@kathleenaustin327]

Did the storm go over the town?!! No damages is amazing!!

[@Mondfischli]

... presumably their roofing carrying the panels is more solid than average 🤔

[@moniqueengleman873]

Super well built houses with low lying solar panels. There is a way to do good things for the environment AND your family. You can poo poo solar power all you want, but I live completely off grid and my solar works like a dream.

[@touch2ndgen]

It also helps being inland

[@ayina111]

70-80 mph, still strong wind. But no damage. Still very impressive

[@ocularis1]

Sorry, they are leaving out some pertinent facts... 20-30 miles inland depending on whether you count barrier islands. not really susceptible to storm surge, and looks like winds were more in a cat 2 hurricane level topping out at a little over 100mph sustained (maybe pushing into the bottom range of cat 3 max). To hold this community up as having survived the worst of Ian, as implied in this interview (at least the way it was cut) is painting a dishonest picture.

[@tobarstep]

There's nothing affordable about living there. We looked up some of the home prices and the various fees and dues they pay. Between mortgage, insurance, and community fees you're looking at like 5k _minimum_ per month.

[@kinngrimm]

Whoever is rebuilding in the afflicted areas, at least take note from this example.

[@activegalactic4630]

How did they engineer the palm trees?

[@gatoryak7332]

If you watch the news clip all the way through, you'll see palm trees that survived quite well even where buildings were destroyed. That's what palm tree do.

[@wafflesmomforlife9215]

Wow, that is WONDERFUL!!!

[@sharrein5327]

Amazing

[@MommaDee23]

12 miles in Florida can make a world of difference in any given direction. It may not have been the way this community was built as much as where it was built. We live in Lakewood Ranch, northwest of them, and although we were built as a "green" community, we're not as green as they are, and yet were just as fortunate in that we did not lose power, got flooded, or had serious, if any at all, structural damages. We did have our share of fallen trees, ripped pool cages but all very minor. It's about time that any and all new development is sustainable. Nature will show it's appreciation and not take you down.

[@kcuzz4091]

What I'm curious about, is if this community had been closer to the beaches of Ft. Meyers, would it have survived so well?!! If such a community was to be built need the beach would the homes have to be raised up to prevent flooding, and would the solar panels have made it through Hurricane Ian?!!

[@girlfromthebronxbywayofelb7288]

What I'm curious about...why do people NEED to build near the beach? Those building permits should not be written. Notice that this community retained a chunk of open land; that was likely a huge source of protection, especially because it gives a place for water to go. Concrete built surfaces cannot absorb water. Learn the lessons already. Everyone wants to brag about a fabulous house on the beach???? Really? Not a goal for the future. The beach should be preserved for wildlife and wetlands. Let Mother Nature do her job.

[@22steve5150]

A part of the design of the community was use of wetlands and connected pond and lake systems to absorb much of the surge so their flooding would be mitigated. That means they can't build these types of structures right up on the beach like that, for those sorts of structures they would likely need to be on stilts or otherwise elevated structures with concrete or cinderblock walls for the bottom floor and ability to use sandbags or anti-flooding caulk/sealant or some other method for temporarily sealing the bottom floor door and window openings watertight so that even if the storm surge is higher than the stilts, the water won't get through the bottom floor's walls.

[@fosheezy98]

Given everything else discussed that was likely taken into account as a bad idea for what the goal was.

[@user-oz7bx4tx8e]

Like I said this community is more inland. Massive new hurricane proof homes on Sanibel and Fort Myers beach did not survive. It is also about location

[@girlfromthebronxbywayofelb7288]

Big part of being "hurricane proof" is not building near the beach.

[@kathrynhall7021]

LOVE THIS TRUE STORY!!! ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE

[@walterschwab4616]

True! Live in ga Atlanta n see none of that money being used in or throughout any part of Georgia or City for that matter scam...

[@charlesblizzard718]

So did this community separate from the grid? Where did the power come from during the cloud cover? I noticed that there are no overhead power lines. Most coastal area have to be overhead.

[@katella]

Solar living is much easier than people imagine. I only have four panels and have never been out if energy or needed a generator. Nearly twenty years totally off grid.

[@kismet2354]

This amazing community put all their power lines underground. Definitely not a REPUBLICAN stronghold🤣😂

[@duncancallum]

I live in Queensland Australia, and have 1.5 KW Solar Panels, and even on cloudy days they still produce electricity. Naturally with that small amount of panels we still use Main power supply.The Queensland Government gives interest free loans for one to put Solar System on your roof .

[@4ctina246]

This is amazing!!! What a great job they did planning this community. “The technology is here, we just got to get everybody on board and make it affordable” well done 👍🏽

[@joanne4758]

4Ctina - I can't believe how surprised everyone is - this is 2022 - we got subsidised panels on a couple of years ago. It's a brilliant system. Unfortunately you have a lot of sceptics to work with. Good luck.

[@williamgrimberg2510]

Ok, great they made it through the storm . Now the question is what’s the income level are these people at to be able live in that well designed development ?

[@floridaskiffcompany2558]

Would be interesting to see how it hold up if it were to actually be hit by a hurricane. This area got touched by the outer bands at best. On the Southeast Quadrant. After spending 5 days handing out food and supplies the devastation was unreal. If this took the wind Englewood/Port Charlotte sustained unbroken. I would have to imagine all those panels would be gone. You could definitely see a difference in new construction over the old houses. I saw a new weakness in the soffits of the newer houses though. The roofs stayed on and the windows held. But the wind blew the soffits in and pressurized the attics. Blowing the ceilings down. From the outside the houses looked pretty good. But inside was a mess.

[@chetmyers7041]

Wow, I've heard of windows blown inward by winds, but never heard of pressurized attics and inward exploding ceilings. I understand the physics, just never heard of it happening.

[@pn2543]

Note - the reporter does not clarify that Babcock Ranch did NOT get the full 150 mph winds NOR the storm surge, they are 30 miles inland so only got 80 mph winds and no storm surge, its a little bit disingenuous not to mention this

[@pepeshopping]

This is an EXCEPTION, as most other places and solar farms are NOT built that well. But it’s the difference when you build it yourself vs some contractor that just wants your money.

[@601salsa]

Awesome. This is how America could rebuild whilst future proofing for more storms...... and with no comfort sacrificed.......

[@jrbland18]

God BLESS all the people WHO LOST THIER LIFE. In JESUS name Amen