Re: OT New Orleans: The City that Couldn't Afford to Die


afiggatt wrote:
> Alex Terrell wrote:
>
> > As for the other towns. make sure new buildings can withstand
> > hurricanes. Hurricane proof houses are not rocket science.
>
> Houses which can withstand 150 MPH sustained winds are feasible
> (albeit with severe cost and design flexibility issues although damage
> from flying debris is a problem),

Steel frame construction? I'd guess it would add 20% to construction
costs. I suppose houses in LA have a similar cost overhead to meet
Earth Quake regulations.

but the storm surge of 25 feet of
> water? Unless you want to pay to build a house as a reinforced concrete
> bunker, your house is not going to withstand the sheer weight of water
> in a powerful storm surge.
>
25 feet is a bit extreme. You can build the ground floor as an open
garage, to withstand upto 10 feet of water. Agree it's not in
everyone's taste.

> The obvious solution is not to build so close to the ocean, but
> stopping this is close to politically impossible. Storm surges from a
> hurricane as powerful as Katrina are rare events, but I would like to
> see the government not offer flood insurance to people who insist on
> building private residences close enough to the ocean that it gets
> damaged or destroyed by every run of the mill topical storm or category
> 1 hurricane that comes along.
>
Makes sense. But if someone wants to build a concrete bunker, perheaps
it should be insurable.

.

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