By Joseph Mendonca · September 17, 2024

As part of our Climate & Land Use Technical Assistance Program, Smart Growth America partnered with a local Florida-based organization, Incubate Neighborhood Center (INC), to raise awareness about the impacts that intensifying storms and flooding have on housing affordability, infrastructure, and economic development in their community. Focused on the Fort Pierce area in St. Lucie County, SGA and INC interviewed community residents, business owners, government officials, and regional resilience partners to learn from their experiences with flooding, what policies are in place to help, and how people can better prepare and advocate for equitable and climate resilient infrastructure that mitigates the impacts of flooding.

Climate and Land Use TA in Fort Pierce, FL

Fort Pierce is located in the Treasure Coast region of St. Lucie County in southeast Florida. “The Sunrise City,” as it’s known, was the home of the Highwaymen artists and writer Zora Neale Hurston. As a Justice40 Community, its history of inequitable outcomes makes it a priority area for federal investments in environmental infrastructure, including flood mitigation projects. Crossed by Moore’s Creek, Taylor Creek, the Belcher Canal, and other waterways emptying into its coast along the Indian River Lagoon, much of Ft. Pierce is also prone to flooding. Flood Factor finds over a third of properties in the city to be flood-vulnerable, earning Ft. Pierce a Moderate Flood Risk rating.

Over the past year, SGA has partnered with Incubate Neighborhood Center (INC), a community-based organization seeking to address systematic and institutionalized forms of racism and intentional disinvestment in Ft. Pierce as part of our Climate and Land Use Technical Assistance Program. Together, we worked with residents and leaders to raise awareness of local flooding issues, how it’s affecting land use and economic growth, and how it can be better addressed.

The resulting video, “Flooding in Ft. Pierce: Building resilience in Florida,” highlights how flooding has and continues to impact Ft. Pierce and the wider St. Lucie County community. Community residents, city and county staff, business owners, advocates, and regional resilience partners alike all face the effects of storms and flooding, and although individual action can be taken, the need for more policy that funds flood and storm-resilient infrastructure is clear. Federal, state, and local initiatives that support flood mitigation efforts must prioritize and elevate community experiences, particularly in low-lying areas and areas that have experienced systemic disinvestment.

The history of storms & flooding in Florida

When Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida in 1992 as only the third storm to make landfall in the U.S. as a Category 5, it ended Florida’s 42-year streak without a direct hit. In 2004, after Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne all impacted Florida, the state earned the nickname “the Plywood State.” More recently, Hurricanes Irma (2017), Michael (2018), Ian (2022), and Idalia (2023) have all made landfall in the state as major hurricanes (Category 3 and above). Hurricanes of all categories can produce deadly storm surge, rain-induced floods, and tornadoes. And flooding can occur unrelated to any hurricane or tropical storm, like in 2023, when 25 inches of rain was dropped in one day on Fort Lauderdale, which is just 90 miles south of Fort Pierce, causing over a billion dollars in damages. Just 14 months later, much of South Florida was again underwater.

The impacts of frequent floods in Florida are severe for all, but especially for low-lying neighborhoods and neighborhoods that have experienced disinvestment in flood-resistant infrastructure. Over 300,000 people and $100 billion in real estate in the state are in areas that would be underwater with 3 feet of flooding. Between 1980 and 2024, Florida experienced 36 tropical cyclones or flood events that caused more than a billion dollars in damages; 13 of these occurred in the past five 5 years (2019-2023) and collectively caused 314 deaths and $232.7 billion in losses. The impacts of flooding can go beyond inundation, too; rising water, especially where septic tanks are common, can carry raw sewage, potentially exposing people to disease.

St. Lucie County’s ongoing resilience planning efforts are one such area where community members can make their voices heard. As the initiative moves forward, residents can and should provide feedback on every step of the process wherever possible to guide the direction of the work St. Lucie County and the City of Fort Pierce are doing to enhance resilience to flooding.