Since Florida benefits from a warm and sunny climate and beautiful beaches across the state, many people would like to live here or at least come to visit. However, crime, natural disasters, and potential encounters with wildlife are likely to make some people avoid visiting such places. Okay, so let us take a closer look at how safe the Sunshine State is. Well, let us dig deeper into this.
Crime Rates
In the context of other states, Florida is in the median regarding violent crime incidence. The violent crime rate has decreased in the past two decades; it was around 1,100 per 100,000 persons in the early 1990s compared to below 500 per 100,000 as per the 2019 data. However, certain big cities, for instance, Miami and Orlando always report a higher crime rate than the overall average rate of the state.
Criminality in Florida is relatively high in instances of property crime per capita relative to 65% of states in America. Once more, theft and other similar crimes are found more commonly in the larger metropolitan cities. Both home and car break-ins are threats that are familiar in the community meaning that people have to be cautious and acquire measures like installing alarms and other security measures and even not leaving items within our cars in conspicuous locations when the vehicles are unlocked.
Although somewhat worrisome, the crime situation cannot be considered to be catastrophic for the majority of the population. It showed that risks in higher-crime areas can be reduced to a great extent if one takes simple measures. Altogether, the rates of crimes do not exclude people from coming to Florida as visitors or from living in the state.
Hurricanes
The state of Florida is a DR state that is prone to hurricanes because it lies between the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Gulf of Mexico on the west. The Atlantic hurricane season is considered to be official from June to November, with the average highest activity being noted in September.
Florida has undergone some bad storms in terms of hurricanes in the past. In the past, hurricanes such as the Miami hurricane in the year 1926, hurricane Andrew in 1992, and the Irma hurricane in the year 2017 have wreaked havoc and claimed many lives. Non-stable variables include water level rise and coastal construction that further escalates the impact of future storms.
Due to vulnerability to hurricanes, Florida has the necessary legislation in place and barriers around fragile areas. In the event of a storm as a component of disaster preparedness, early warning and evacuation procedures facilitate the transfer of the population to safe zones. However, expectancies regarding hurricanes are almost like predicting a yearly phenomenon making the people accept the disruption of weather and even losses to their houses as part of the bargain for residing in that region.
Dangerous Wildlife
Incidences of snake bites, alligators attacking people, bears charging at human beings, and other frightening creatures make it evident that there are safety concerns in Florida. Some of the large snakes in Florida include the Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake or the aggressive American crocodile that mostly lives in the wild and remains in natural habitats but every once in a while they can be found almost anywhere in the state.
Even less frequent encounters with venomous creatures, Florida stands for not less than 4-6 incidents of unprovoked alligator attacks on people yearly, which is significantly greater than in any other state. Gator aggression is most acute when the temperatures are high at the beginning of spring and during summer when the breeding seasons are rife. The majority of the attacks happen especially when individuals do not heed signs or do not maintain adequate buffer zones from water sources where the large reptiles dwell.
In Florida for example it is estimated that more than a hundred shark attacks are reported in many years though many of them may cause injuries that are not very serious. It becomes very risky for anyone swimming early in the morning or evening near the shores of regions with inlets that are being used by hunting seals and sharks.
Thus, the level of risks of running into some dangerous species, and having an interaction with a wild creature is low among sensible people who know what species to avoid, how to behave in probable areas of their presence, and how not to provoke the interaction. Just ‘hey, this is a friendly reminder that big bad predator species in NH,’ is just as they are adding exciting features of the threat of danger for many of the lifestyle-involved inhabitants of the state.
It seems safe to call Florida Home
Yes, crime, storms, and dangerous creatures are indeed real to some extent in the state of Florida. But, the tick marks in checkboxes for reasonable preparation, and mere prudence in risky checkboxes to tackle most of the safety problems. However, when embracing all of the numerous opportunities, facilities, and beautiful nature of the state, it is always a good thing to take adequate precautions.
By putting protective guards in place and keeping the dangers in proper perspective, millions enjoy living in Florida for years on end. To those who yearn for the combination of cosmopolitan jobs and warm weather complemented by the flora and fauna of Miami, the benefits usually surpass the drawbacks by a considerable margin for most people.
