Hurricane Wilma Flood Research Paper

A devastating flood hit Key West Florida on October 24, 2005 that was caused by hurricane Wilma. The flood caused about twenty-nine billion dollars in damage, killed twenty-five people, and flooded all of Key West. Although the flood caused a lot of damage to the houses, buildings and landscape of Florida it could have been worse. Since Florida has such high risk for flooding they have prevention methods in place. One of the bigger and more effective methods are seawalls which are built in the ocean in order to stop very large tides that would cause flooding. However, seawalls are not very environmentally friendly. Seawalls are used in many high risk flood zone, not just Florida, so the problem exists all over. Also in beaches all around the world where seawall like structures are being used it has ruined wildlife habitats, especially on the east coast. Another problem with seawalls is that they are very expensive and use a lot of tax payer money that could be used in other flood prevention methods.
Seawalls still need to, and will be, used in flood prevention because they are very effective and save people tons of money. The Nature
One way that they are trying to prevent floods and preserve the environment in Lake Worth in Palm Beach Florida is by filling a deep hole and putting plants along it for ten acres. The plants will make tides and waves much smaller and provide a healthy and safe habitat for ocean life. Also in they are restoring dunes at beaches like Coral Cove in order to maintain wildlife and protecting communities from floods. These are just some of the ways that they are trying to prevent floods in an environmentally friendly way, and although they aren’t as effective as seawalls they can be implemented in lower risk areas without sea