This is true up until after the 2004/2005 hurricane season. Homes built in the Orlando area after that time period adopted the building codes out of Miami for severe hurricanes. Yes the older homes in the area are still very vulnerable. Beyond just structure, they often have non-native or not very hurricane proof trees/plants, leading to projectiles. (yay!)
The current construction calls for metal rods to be driven several feet into foundation and then to "clamp" onto the roof or the second floor of the building. You will also notice the vast majority of homes built in the last decade here are almost completely cinder-block coated in stucco to withstand the elements too.
A couple of corrections...
The Florida building code has improved a good bit but the 2004/2005 hurricane season did not have a great deal to do with it. Andrew in 1992 gets the lion share of the credit for starting the change.
The entire state of Florida was brought under a unified building code in 2002-2004. Up until that point, each county had their own code. It is amended and revised on a continuous basis.
The most notable changes in around 2007 +/- related to storm resistance were involving windows. In particular, how they were tested and certified.
The metal rods you spoke of are just one of a number of approved wall tie down methods. They do not go several feet into the foundation as most monolithic slab footers are only 16"-20" deep on average. They are embed between 7"-9" into the footer and held in with a 2 part epoxy. The top is held onto the wall top plate with either a single or double nut.
Prior to threaded rod and cable system, embedded J bolts were the most common way to hold down the wall for wood construction. They are still used to this day and are approved for use under the current FBC.
Once you get above the walls, all framing and trusses must also be held down with approved hurricane clips, but this is nothing new. Hurricane clips have been apart of nearly every counties code in the state of Florida since well before the 2000 rewrite.
While CMU homes are more popular from about central Florida and down, wood frame is still the most popular by far. About 90% of what I see is wood framed. Either way, both have to be designed to withstand the same forces.
. In all seriousness though it looks like the threat in Orlando is still mainly rain with higher wins north of town especially towards Ocala and Tallahassee.
