Hurricanes have posed a formidable threat to Florida residents since the state's earliest days. From the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 to Hurricane Irma in 2017, hurricanes have repeatedly caused catastrophic damage to property and infrastructure. This has had a dramatic effect on Florida's land ownership and titles, and presents a unique challenge for title services throughout the state.

It is important to understand the history of hurricanes in Florida, as it is essential to comprehending the effects of hurricanes on land ownership. The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 is a particularly illustrative example of the effects of hurricanes on land titles. The storm destroyed large portions of the city of Miami and the surrounding areas, resulting in a total of 372 fatalities and $100 million in damage. The storm also caused significant disruption to legal documentation, as many of the relevant documents were destroyed in the storm and many office buildings were rendered inoperable. This made it difficult for property owners and title services to establish ownership rights, as the evidence necessary to demonstrate ownership was destroyed.

This led to a new legal framework to address the challenge of establishing title and ownership rights in the wake of a hurricane. The Florida Legislature passed legislation that established a process for assessing storm damage and determining ownership rights. This process included:

• An evaluation of the damage caused to public records
• The use of sworn affidavits to demonstrate ownership
• Courts established a “rule of reasonable certainty”, which allowed parties to provide sworn affidavits in order to demonstrate ownership, even in the absence of hard evidence.

In the present day, hurricanes continue to present a unique challenge for title services in Florida. Hurricanes often cause widespread damage to public records, making it difficult for title services to establish ownership rights. In addition, hurricanes often cause significant structural damage to properties and buildings, making it difficult for title services to accurately assess the extent of the damage. This presents a unique challenge for title services, as they must be able to accurately assess the damage, as well as establish ownership rights, in order to properly perform their services.

In the future, technology will likely play a larger role in addressing the challenges posed by hurricanes. In particular, advances in data storage and computer processing power have enabled title services to store and process large amounts of data quickly and efficiently. This has enabled title services to develop comprehensive databases of property information and records, which can be used to quickly and accurately assess the damage caused by hurricanes. In addition, modern technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence are being explored as potential solutions to the challenge of determining ownership rights in the wake of a hurricane.

Overall, hurricanes have had a long history of disrupting property ownership and titles in Florida. In the past, hurricanes have caused significant disruption to public records, making it difficult for title services to establish ownership rights. In the present day, title services must still be able to accurately assess the damage caused by hurricanes and establish ownership rights before they can properly perform their services. In the future, advances in technology will likely play a larger role in addressing the challenges posed by hurricanes, and may provide more accurate and efficient solutions to the problem of establishing ownership rights in the wake of a hurricane.