Across the state, retirees are worrying whether they will have the resources to rebuild if a hurricane strikes.

BY MELISSA NELSON

Associated Press

PENSACOLA - Jim and Evelyn Burke's Gulf Breeze home provided a dream retirement for 13 years -- evenings watching purple and pink sunsets on their private dock and mornings glimpsing dolphins frolicking out their kitchen window.

Then came Hurricane Ivan. The Category 4 storm roared across the bay in September 2004, largely gutting their peaceful retreat and turning their golden years into insurance tangles, unreliable contractors and months in a FEMA trailer. Hurricane Dennis followed 10 months later, again flooding the home and undoing many of the repairs made after Ivan.

At 75, the couple had enough. They hoped to sell their home last fall, but saw little interest when they placed the property for sale on the market. With another a hurricane season looming and Burke recovering from major heart surgery, their only option is to wait it out.

''I don't think we can survive another one,'' Evelyn Burke said, looking out over the Pensacola Bay while surveying her still-unrepaired boat dock and swimming pool.

FEELING STRESS

The Burkes aren't alone. Experts say retirees across Florida are feeling the stress of two record hurricane seasons. Long considered a retirement haven because of its warm weather, favorable tax laws, low cost of living and laid-back lifestyle, Florida is losing some of that appeal.

''We are seeing it a lot,'' said Jeff Nall, a spokesman for the Council on Aging of West Florida, a nonprofit organization that provides services to homebound elderly. ``Many worry that they don't have the physical ability to do repairs after a hurricane. They may be healthy otherwise, but they cannot do home repairs.''

Other retirees also worry being victimized by dishonest contractors or having to rely on neighbors, Nall said.

''If there is not a family member nearby or on hand, they could be forced into making a decision or persuaded into making a decision they would have preferred to bounce off of somebody,'' he said.

About 3.3 million people Floridians over age 60, or about 80 percent of the state's senior population, live in hurricane-vulnerable coastal communities, according to population estimates compiled by the state's Department of Elder Affairs. The department's latest data on the migration of retirees to the state found that about 150,000 people over age 65 moved to Florida between 1995 to 2000.

CLEARER PICTURE

But many groups, from the state to the AARP, want a clearer picture of how the recent hurricanes have affected Florida's appeal as a retirement destination.

''It's a question a lot of people are asking, but I don't think anyone has the answer right now,'' said Dave Bruns, a spokesman for AARP in Florida.

Home sales remain strong statewide and retirees continue to show interest in the state, but Bruns said it's still too early to tell whether hurricanes will shift retirement trends away from the Florida coast.

The Florida Legislature's Office of Economic and Demographic Research plans a study this summer to determine whether retirees have left the state or are planning to leave because of hurricanes, said director Amy Baker.

''We anticipate that will answer a lot of these questions,'' she said.

In the meantime the AARP is helping retirees get ready for the next hurricane season with a preparedness guide. Also, there are plans to assist those hit by hurricanes this year with another publication that guides retirees through a hurricane's aftermath.

Tom and Carolyn Murdock lost their Pensacola Bay waterfront retirement home in Ivan and saw much of their rebuilding efforts washed away in Dennis.

''We drove up to the house, and it was totally gutted -- all of our clothes, furniture, everything collected through 40 years of marriage, gone,'' Murdock said.

Worse than the initial loss was the uncertainty of whether their insurance company would help to cover the full cost of rebuilding and repairing. A year and half after Ivan, many of their neighbors are still fighting with insurers that have refused to cover claims.

REBUILDING WOES

''If we hadn't gotten the insurance, I would have had to get a mortgage at 70. Could you see me getting a mortgage at 70? This went on for about a year, we had no idea if were going to have enough money to rebuild. We didn't want to live with our kids. We would have literally had nothing,'' he said.

The Murdocks rebuilt, but they have often debated whether to stay or leave.

''We had the opportunity take the money and run and go to high ground. I was leaning more toward moving, and then my wife had back surgery,'' Tom Murdock said.

Instead, they decided to stick it out for now.

But the anxiety of knowing that the next hurricane season might bring more damage and loss to their property weighs heavily on them.

'We say `June 1, June 1, June 1, June 1,' over and over again,'' Murdock said, referring to the first day of the official hurricane season. ``We are beginning to feel immortal again, but you know that's not true.''

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