Architects Guided by Lessons from Hurricane Katrina as Rebuilding Efforts Begin in Wake of Hurricane Florence
Hurricane season is in its full force and fury, with Hurricane Florence having ripped through the Carolinas leaving vast areas in need of time critical repairs and rebuilding in order to restore livable conditions to residents suffering in the aftermath. This and other monumental devastation from 2017’s hurricanes—Harvey, Irving, Maria and Jose-- have caused architects and building professionals to reflect back on lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in August 2005. A recent report by Houzz calculates that renovations triggered by natural disasters (including wildfires in the western U.S) increased from 4 percent of jobs in 2016 to 6 percent in 2017—part of the current reconstruction boom. Most experts agree that renovation techniques are also getting smarter in the hopes that history will not repeat itself.