'We Built It To Survive': Beach Home Survives Hurricane Michael In Perfect Condition

Oct 19, 2018 by apost team

When the entire community surrounding a beach home in Mexico was destroyed, but the beach home itself wasn’t, neighbors and family members were left in awe.

The family seemed to be prepared for any bad weather coming their way, stating “Hurricanes happen and so we intended to build it to survive.” Dr. Lebron Lackey told ABC News that they even intend for the home, which he built with his uncle last year, to be passed down through generations.

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Once Category 4 Hurricane Michael had made a landfall in Mexico Beach on Wednesday, Lackey was at home in Tennessee watching the security cameras as the 155 mph winds carried debris around violently.

In fact, he wasn’t at all confident that the house would hold up throughout the storm and was afraid that the roof would be swept up at any moment by the hurricane.

Lackey even reported feeling nauseated as he “was watching the corner of the roof buck like an airplane wing. He even watched as the air passed by carrying debris at a speed similar to an airplane, which immediately made him lose any confidence that his house would survive.

However, thanks to the goal made by Dr. Lackey and his uncle when constructing this home, the ultimate purpose of going “overboard to preserve the structure” was fulfilled without a doubt. While building, they didn’t just finish when they made the building look appealing -- they went and added concrete to corners and other parts of the home to make sure it would stay put.

Some of the extra work went towards building 1-foot thick walls and steel cables to hold the roof as steady as possible in situations like this week’s.

They even built the ground floor out of tall pilings that held the house above it so that it may give away during massive storm surges if necessary. And it did just that, said Lackey on Monday.

He only felt that the house was vulnerable when the corner of the roof began to appear unstable due to the “airplane wing effect.”

Lackey, stating that the additions were not expensive and were “totally worth it,” advises those interested in building dream homes to take necessary precautions. Assess the area you live in, listen to what natives of the area say the weather is like, and prepare for conditions to be worse than that. He says that if you want to make the building last, build it with the purpose of preserving it -- build it bigger and better than you originally intended.

“I’m a fan of concrete construction,” Lackey added. And rightfully so.

Although Lackey’s and his family’s vacation home survived, the surrounding homes have been demolished by the viciousness of Hurricane Michael’s aftermath.

The hurricane destroyed nearly every home and business building in Mexico Beach, along with the Mexico Beach Police Department.

Out of the 18 confirmed deaths caused by Hurricane Michael, one was confirmed to be in Mexico Beach, putting emphasis on the importance of having a sturdy home for shelter.

Lackey describes the Mexico Beach residents as “great people” and that they will “rebuild and come back.”

This determination is what saved his family the worry of a destroyed home after the hurricane, and it is the same determination that could your family when building dream homes just as he did.

What do you think of this incredible feat of architecture? Let us know in the comments and show this article to your friends and family so they don't miss out.