VOA新闻杂志2023--Florida Homes Built to Resist Hurricanes, Reduce Emissions

Hurricane Michael hit the American state of Florida five years ago. The major storm came with wind speed of 250 kilometers per hour. It damaged many homes, boats, cars and trucks.

But Bonny Paulson's home in the coastal¹ community of Mexico Beach only suffered minor² damage to its roof. That is because it was built to resist high winds and heavy rain.

While others left the area ahead of the storm, Paulson stayed behind. "I wasn't nervous at all," she said. Almost all the nearby homes were badly damaged. Many were completely destroyed.

Now, home builders in hurricane-prone³ areas are building more homes like the one Paulson owns.

The new homes are built with recycled or advanced materials that reduce energy use. Solar panels⁴ are fitted closely on the roof to prevent high winds from getting under. And they are easier to heat and cool.

Deltec is the homebuilder that built Paulson's home. The company says only one of nearly 1,400 homes it built has been badly damaged by a hurricane. The homes, Deltec says, also use better material and equipment to reduce energy use.

Steve Linton is head of Deltec. He said, "The real magic here is that we're doing both."

Other homebuilders are also developing neighborhoods that are both resistant⁵ to hurricanes and friendly to climate change.

In Cortez, Florida, Pearl⁶ Homes has completed 26 homes and plans for 30 more by the end of next year in the Hunters Point neighborhood.

The homes are LEED-certified platinum⁷, which is the highest rating⁸ for homes that use less energy. The homes and roads are also built higher off the ground to avoid flooding.

Marshall Gobuty is the chief executive⁹ of Pearl Homes. He said he wants the homes "to be so unlike everything else that goes on in Florida." He said there are new homes nearby that are "underwater."

Paulson, the homeowner in Mexico Beach, said she did not want to live "day to day worried about (a storm)." She said the new building materials also reduce the costs of energy needed to power her home. She said she used to pay $250 a month for energy use in a different home. Now her cost is about $32.

Babcock Ranch¹⁰ is another hurricane-resistant and climate change-friendly community in south Florida. The community calls itself the first solar-powered town in the U.S. The town has 680,000 solar panels to produce energy and uses large batteries to store it. And the homes are built to deal with high winds and heavy rain.

In 2022, Hurricane Ian came through Babcock Ranch and left very little damage. Syd Kitson started the town in 2006. He said, "Unless you build in a very resilient way, you're just going to constantly be repairing or demolishing¹² the home."

Words in This Story

resist –v. to push back against something, to not fall down

prone –adj. likely to happen or happening often

recycled –adj. made from material that was used before or was once something else

magic –n. something that seems special or impressive

resilient –adj. something that has the ability to recover

demolish¹¹ –v. to tear something down

1 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

2 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

3 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

4 panels   

镶板( panel的名词复数 )； 面； （门、墙等上面的）嵌板； 控制板

参考例句：

• One of the glass panels in the front door was cracked. 前门的一块方玻璃破裂了。
• Make sure the panels are treated with a wood preservative. 确保镶板用木材防腐剂处理过。

5 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

6 pearl   

n.珍珠，珍珠母

参考例句：

• He bought his girlfriend a pearl necklace.他给他女朋友买了一条珍珠项链。
• The crane and the mother-of-pearl fight to death.鹬蚌相争。

7 platinum   

n.白金

参考例句：

• I'll give her a platinum ring.我打算送给她一枚白金戒指。
• Platinum exceeds gold in value.白金的价值高于黄金。

8 rating   

n.级别，等级，额定值，责骂，收视率

参考例句：

• It is a ship with a rating of 500,000 tons.这是一艘五十万吨级的船。
• The opinion polls gave the president a high rating.民意测验显示人民对总统的支持率很高。

9 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

10 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

11 demolish   

v.拆毁(建筑物等)，推翻(计划、制度等)

参考例句：

• They're going to demolish that old building.他们将拆毁那座旧建筑物。
• He was helping to demolish an underground garage when part of the roof collapsed.他当时正在帮忙拆除一个地下汽车库，屋顶的一部份突然倒塌。

12 demolishing   

v.摧毁( demolish的现在分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings. 这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。 来自《用法词典》
• Conventional demolishing work would have caused considerable interruptions in traffic. 如果采用一般的拆除方法就要引起交通的严重中断。 来自辞典例句