The tattered shreds of canvas clinging to metal supports will be a lasting image of the destructive path Hurricane Milton tore across Florida in October 2024.
Of course, there were much more serious consequences of Milton’s landfall than the ruined roof at St. Petersburg Tropicana Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays.
Still, it was sobering to see the 34-year-old ballpark in such a state of disarray. The Rays had called the stadium home since their inaugural season in 1998, and had planned to remain there until their new stadium opens in 2028. Due to Milton, however, it’s unlikely Tropicana will be ready for the start of the 2025 season, leaving the club looking for a temporary home elsewhere.
According to the Rays’ media guide, Tropicana’s roof was the world’s largest cable-supported domed roof. It was made of six acres of translucent, Teflon-coated fiberglass and supported itself with 180 miles of cables connected by struts. The slanted roof reduced construction costs and decreased the volume of air under the dome by 16.8 million cubic feet, decreasing the amount of air requiring climate control.
The guide says the roof was built to withstand winds of up to 115 miles per hour. Hurricane Milton was a Category 3 storm when it made landfall south of Tampa Bay, with sustained winds of 120 mph that diminished as it moved across the state.
In a statement to the Associated Press, the Rays said that a handful of “essential personnel” were inside Tropicana Field as the roof panels were torn apart by Milton’s winds, but that no one was injured during the disaster.
“Over the coming days and weeks, we expect to be able to assess the true condition of Tropicana Field,” the team said. “In the meantime, we are working with law enforcement to secure the building. We ask for your patience at this time, and we encourage those who can to donate to organizations in our community that are assisting those directly impacted by these storms.”
The situation, however, could have been much worse. Tropicana was initially going to serve as a temporary base camp to support debris cleanup operations and temporarily house first responders, but those plans changed due to concerns that the storm was too strong for the stadium’s roof to withstand.
“They were relocated,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a news conference. “Tropicana Field is a routine staging area for these things… As it became clear that there was going to be something of that magnitude that was going to be within the distance, they redeployed them out of Tropicana. There were no state assets that were inside Tropicana Field.”
Aging Infrastructure: A Persistent Vulnerability
The United States faces mounting challenges in protecting its buildings and infrastructure from the growing threat of natural disasters. With climate change intensifying the frequency and severity of extreme weather events — such as hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and earthquakes — the urgency to build resilient infrastructure has never been greater.
Efforts to bolster the nation’s physical structures face numerous financial, regulatory, social, and technical obstacles. From outdated infrastructure to funding constraints and resistance to change, the path toward a safer, disaster-resistant future is fraught with complexity.
One of the biggest challenges in strengthening the nation's infrastructure is its age. Much of the infrastructure in the U.S. was built decades ago, before modern building codes accounted for the impact of climate-related events. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), many bridges, roads, and public buildings are in "poor" or "mediocre" condition, leaving them vulnerable to collapse or damage during disasters.
Outdated infrastructure complicates the process of retrofitting because reinforcing aging buildings often requires significant structural alterations. For example, many older bridges were not designed to endure the level of flooding or high winds seen in recent years. Additionally, projects like retrofitting levees or flood barriers involve complex engineering processes and prolonged construction timelines that disrupt daily life. As infrastructure continues to deteriorate, the risk of catastrophic failures increases.
The High Cost of Retrofitting and New Construction
Upgrading infrastructure to withstand future disasters is prohibitively expensive. Estimates suggest that it will cost trillions of dollars to make U.S. infrastructure climate-resilient. Federal, state, and local governments often struggle to allocate sufficient funds, especially when competing priorities — such as education, healthcare, and defense — demand significant financial resources.
Federal programs like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offer some financial relief for retrofitting projects through grants, but demand often outstrips available funding. Many communities lack the budgetary flexibility to co-finance projects that require local matching funds, further widening the gap between need and action.
Regulatory and Bureaucratic Hurdles
Another significant challenge lies in navigating the complex web of regulatory frameworks governing construction and disaster preparedness. Building codes vary widely among states and municipalities, leading to inconsistencies in the strength of structures across the country. In coastal states like Florida, stringent codes require buildings to withstand hurricane-force winds, but inland areas often lack comparable regulations.
This patchwork of building standards creates vulnerabilities, especially as climate change pushes extreme weather events into regions previously unaccustomed to them. For example, severe flooding in traditionally dry regions like the American Southwest highlights the need for nationwide building codes that reflect evolving climate realities. However, establishing uniform standards requires significant consensus — a difficult task given varying regional priorities and economic constraints.
Bureaucratic inertia also slows progress. Infrastructure projects often require environmental assessments, zoning permits, and coordination among multiple agencies, leading to delays. Although these regulations serve an essential purpose, such as ensuring environmental protection, they also add time and complexity to retrofitting projects, leaving communities exposed for longer periods.
Social Resistance and the Human Factor
Beyond financial and regulatory challenges, social and political factors complicate efforts to reinforce infrastructure. Many property owners resist mandatory retrofitting policies, viewing them as expensive and unnecessary, especially in areas that have not recently experienced a disaster. Additionally, there is often opposition to infrastructure upgrades that disrupt neighborhoods, displace residents, or raise property taxes.
Gentrification is another unintended consequence of resilience efforts. For example, projects aimed at flood-proofing coastal areas or improving stormwater systems can increase property values, pushing out low-income residents and exacerbating inequality. These social dynamics highlight the importance of balancing resilience efforts with equity and affordability considerations.
Adapting to Evolving Threats
A major challenge in disaster preparedness is the need to anticipate threats that are constantly changing. Engineers and planners must account not only for the current risks posed by hurricanes, wildfires, and earthquakes, but also for how these risks might evolve. Climate models predict rising sea levels, longer droughts, and more intense storms, necessitating adaptive infrastructure solutions that can withstand both current and future conditions.
However, predicting the exact nature and impact of future disasters remains difficult. As the nature of threats evolves, retrofitting existing infrastructure alone may not be sufficient. In some cases, cities and communities will need to abandon vulnerable areas altogether, a difficult decision that raises questions about relocation, costs, and the loss of social and cultural heritage.
Innovative Solutions and Opportunities
Despite the numerous challenges, there are also opportunities to build a more resilient future. Advances in technology, such as predictive modeling, smart materials, and artificial intelligence, offer new tools for engineers and planners. For example, sensors embedded in bridges and buildings can detect structural weaknesses in real time, allowing for proactive maintenance and repair.
Additionally, green infrastructure solutions, such as permeable pavements and urban wetlands, help mitigate flood risks while providing environmental benefits. Community-based resilience programs, which engage local residents in disaster planning, also play a critical role by ensuring that policies reflect the needs of those most affected.
Federal initiatives, such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, have allocated billions of dollars toward infrastructure improvements, emphasizing the importance of climate resilience. However, the success of these programs depends on the ability to overcome regulatory, financial, and social barriers.
GPRS Services Assist with Facility & Infrastructure Resilience
The United States faces formidable challenges in reinforcing its buildings and infrastructure to withstand increasingly destructive natural disasters. Aging infrastructure, high costs, regulatory complexities, and social resistance all complicate efforts to build resilience. As climate change continues to escalate the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, the need for proactive action becomes more urgent.
GPRS can quickly collect data and assess your building or site after a natural disaster has occurred, to capture a full and clear picture of the damage. Our 3D laser scanning, utility locating, video pipe inspection, and precision concrete scanning services give you a full and clear picture of the damage so you can respond and repair efficiently.
All data is captured virtually, offering a single source of information to assess the current as-is conditions and deficiencies.
GPRS can be the first step in helping you rebuild after a natural disaster – but we can also help you document and assess your infrastructure before a disaster occurs to help you plan proactively and determine where you should invest in resiliency.
SiteMap® (patent pending), powered by GPRS, is our facility & project management platform that provides existing conditions documentation to protect your assets and people. It takes all the accurate, field-verified data our SIM-certified Project Managers collect on your site and puts it in one, secure yet easily accessible platform. With SiteMap®, your critical infrastructure data is at your fingertips 24/7 from any computer, tablet, or smartphone.
From skyscrapers to sewer lines, GPRS Intelligently Visualizes The Built World® to keep you on time, on budget, and safe.
What can we help you visualize?
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Benefits of Underground Utility Mapping?
Having an updated and accurate map of your subsurface infrastructure reduces accidents, budget overruns, change orders, and project downtime caused by dangerous and costly subsurface damage.
How does SiteMap® assist with Utility Mapping?
SiteMap® (patent pending), powered by GPRS, is the industry-leading infrastructure management program. It is a single source of truth, housing the 99.8%+ accurate utility locating, concrete scanning, video pipe inspection, leak detection, and 3D laser scanning data our Project Managers collect on your job site. And the best part is you get a complimentary SiteMap® Personal Subscription when GPRS performs a utility locate for you.
Does SiteMap® Work with my Existing GIS Platform?
SiteMap® allows for exporting of data to SHP, GeoJSON, GeoPackage, and DXF directly from any user’s account that either owns or has a job shared to their account. All these file formats can be imported and utilized by other GIS packages if manually imported by the user. More information can be found at SiteMap.com.
