# Hurricane Ian: A Major Threat To Florida and Elsewhere {2022-09-25}

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-ian-a-major-threat-to-florida-and-elsewhere-2022-09-25/972213>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Tags:** breaking-news\
**Created:** [September 25, 2022, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-ian-a-major-threat-to-florida-and-elsewhere-2022-09-25/972213 "2022-09-25T16:45:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 90

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-ian-a-major-threat-to-florida-and-elsewhere-2022-09-25/972213/90 "2022-10-01T15:19:02Z")

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> [@Magiver](#):
>
> I’m thinking along the lines of adding support to poles vs special poles. Something that can be done after power is restored.
> 
> We don’t get hurricanes in my area but we get a lot of tornadoes and they take down poles.

There’s a 1960s suburb development near me with lots of 40+ year old 50 to 75 foot tall trees. Mostly non-native species. It’s not right on the beach, but it ranges from about 1/4mi to about 3/4ths of a mile inland.

Back in 2017 Hurricane Irma damaged a _lot_ of wires and a few wooden power poles in that development. The power company got everything working again then began a 6-_year_ process to replace every pole in the area (about 1/2 mile x 3 miles) with much much _taller_ concrete poles. The new poles put the local distribution wires well above the trees, rather than through the middle of them. The new poles are about 2’ square at the base, and 1’ square at the top. They’re prefab, so I can’t tell whether or not they have a steel girder up the middle. Anyhow, they’re stupid-stout.

And now in 2022 they’re about 2/3rds done with the job in this one neighborhood. Of the thousands of such neighborhoods in greater Miami. I’m told this initiative was begun after hurricane Wilma which was in 2005 and is still slowly spreading across the state 17 years later.

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