
-
Health concerns swirl as Bolivian city drowns in rubbish
-
Syria says deadly Israeli strikes a 'blatant violation'
-
Financial markets tumble after Trump tariff announcement
-
Starbucks faces new hot spill lawsuits weeks after $50mn ruling
-
Europe riled, but plans cool-headed response to Trump's tariffs
-
'Shenmue' voted most influential video game ever in UK poll
-
New coal capacity hit 20-year low in 2024: report
-
Revealed: Why monkeys are better at yodelling than humans
-
Key details on Trump's market-shaking tariffs
-
'A little tough love': Top quotes from Trump tariff talk
-
US business groups voice dismay at Trump's new tariffs
-
Grealish dedicates Man City goal to late brother
-
US tariffs take aim everywhere, including uninhabited islands
-
Trump sparks trade war with sweeping global tariffs
-
Israeli strikes hit Damascus, central Syria; monitor says 4 dead
-
Slot 'hates' offside rule that gave Liverpool win over Everton
-
US stocks end up, but volatility ahead after latest Trump tariffs
-
Barca oust Atletico to set up Clasico Copa del Rey final
-
Mourinho grabs Galatasaray coach's face after losing Istanbul derby
-
Grealish strikes early as Man City move up to fourth in Premier League
-
Reims edge out fourth-tier Cannes to set up PSG French Cup final
-
Liverpool beat Everton as title looms, Man City win without Haaland
-
Jota wins bad-tempered derby as Liverpool move 12 points clear
-
Inter and Milan level in derby Italian Cup semi
-
Stuttgart beat Leipzig to reach German Cup final
-
Trump unveils sweeping global tariffs
-
Italian director Nanni Moretti in hospital after heart attack: media
-
LIV Golf stars playing at Doral with Masters on their minds
-
Trump unveils sweeping 'Liberation Day' tariffs
-
Most deadly 2024 hurricane names retired from use: UN agency
-
Boeing chief reports progress to Senate panel after 'serious missteps'
-
Is Musk's political career descending to Earth?
-
On Mexico-US border, Trump's 'Liberation Day' brings fears for future
-
Starbucks faces new hot spill lawsuit weeks after $50mn ruling
-
Ally of Pope Francis elected France's top bishop
-
'Determined' Buttler leads Gujarat to IPL win over Bengaluru
-
US judge dismisses corruption case against New York mayor
-
Left-wing party pulls ahead in Greenland municipal elections
-
Blistering Buttler leads Gujarat to IPL win over Bengaluru
-
Tesla sales slump as pressure piles on Musk
-
Amazon makes last-minute bid for TikTok: report
-
Canada Conservative leader warns Trump could break future trade deal
-
British band Muse cancels planned Istanbul gig
-
'I'll be back' vows Haaland after injury blow
-
Trump to unveil 'Liberation Day' tariffs as world braces
-
New coach Edwards adamant England can win women's cricket World Cup
-
Military confrontation 'almost inevitable' if Iran nuclear talks fail: French FM
-
US stocks advance ahead of looming Trump tariffs
-
Scramble for food aid in Myanmar city near quake epicentre
-
American Neilson Powless fools Visma to win Across Flanders

A hurricane-proof town? Florida community may be a test case
When Hurricane Ian churned past her home in southwest Florida last year, Mary Frisbee shrugged off worries. She watched TV and surfed the internet.
That's because she and her husband live in Babcock Ranch, a town near the US Gulf Coast that was created with two imperatives: homes have to be built sustainably, and must be able to withstand hurricanes, a constant menace.
The community takes nature deeply into account.
To avoid flooding caused by storms, Babcock Ranch is built some nine meters (30 feet) above sea level. Town planners also preserved wetlands in the area, which act as sponges for excess water.
Local lakes are interconnected with the wetlands by a system of pumps that prevent overflows. And if they do occur, water floods the streets, roads and ponds, not the houses.
The first test came in September 2022 with Ian, a powerful category 4 hurricane, and it was a success. No resident suffered major damage, there were no power outages and only a few trees fell.
- From theory to practice -
Babcock Ranch seems lifted from a postcard. Homes with perfect lawns overlook lakes. Bike paths and forest roads wend through the community. In the parks, kids ride bikes or climb on swings, supervised by parents or grandparents.
The town, which opened in 2018, has 7,200 residents, but continues to expand with new neighborhoods. Eventually it is expected to have a population of about 50,000.
Syd Kitson, a retired professional US soccer player, is the developer. In 2005, his company paid $700 million for a 372 square kilometer (92,000 acre) ranch, most of which it sold to the state of Florida, which wanted to establish a nature reserve there.
On the land he kept -- some 72 square kilometers (18,000 acres) -- Kitson conceived his dream city: a place with housing, stores and schools that would attract young families and retirees choosing to make their home in the Florida sun.
On the outskirts, 680,000 solar panels make the city the first in the United States to run entirely on solar. Power lines are buried underground to protect them from wind and prevent outages during storms.
On paper, everything looked good. But then on September 28, 2022, Ian came roaring through.
And the trust that homeowners like Mary Frisbee or Donald Bishop, a 78-year-old neighbor who had already lost a house in Mississippi to a hurricane, had placed in Babcock Ranch was put to the test.
Kitson said he couldn't sleep on the night of the storm.
"We hadn't been tested yet, so you never know. At the time, there were about 5,000 people living here, neighbors who I had told, 'You can shelter at home.' I felt this really strong responsibility," Kitson recalled.
He was relieved to find that Ian, which churned ashore with 150 mile-per-hour winds and torrential rains that devastated neighboring Fort Myers and left nearly 150 dead, barely damaged his town.
Elsewhere in the state, damages were estimated at over $110 billion.
- A template for elsewhere? –
Most Floridians can't have the protections afforded the residents of Babcock Ranch. They live on lower ground.
Of the state's 19.6 million people, 15 million live in coastal areas, the US government's Office for Coastal Management says.
Still, Kitson believes that the ideas put into practice at Babcock Ranch can provide an example to others.
It is a view shared by Yoca Arditi-Rocha, executive director of the environmental NGO the Cleo Institute, who believes the biggest lesson from the community is that "we need to build our cities and our communities with a climate change of mind."
That may be especially true in Florida, the fastest-growing US state yet one that is acutely vulnerable to disasters such as rising seas and hurricanes.
Babcock Ranch "proves that when you build and you plan ahead, and you invest in those resilience components, you get the return on investment in the end," Arditi-Rocha told AFP.
The activist says such planned communities are not a panacea, though, because the cost of housing is only affordable for a few.
Kitson said he took that into account at Babcock Ranch.
Some rental apartments go for $1,500 a month while home prices can start at $300,000, he said.
"You have to have a variety of housing and prices," he said. "That's very important. It's not a real city unless you can do that."
A.Mahlangu--AMWN