Environment
Katrina and Rita Damage Figures Become Clearer
(archrecord.construction.com - 10/24/2005)
By Ted
Smalley Bowen
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita spent only
a matter of hours in the Gulf Coast region. Their aftereffects,
however, will be felt for years. The region lost between 275,000
and 300,000 homes and roughly as many were damaged, according
to the AIA. Figures for non-residential buildings and infrastructure
were not yet available, but in an illustration of the extent
of damage, a spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of
Economic Development estimated that 5 billion board feet of
lumber and 3 billion square feet of paneling would be needed
for rebuilding and repairs in that state alone. Most of the
repair and rebuilding in the region is likely to be completed
by the end of 2008, according to research by the AIA.
Shortly after Katrina, architects, engineers,
and other specialists joined local and national authorities
in surveying the damage resulting from high winds, storm surges,
and generalized flooding. The effects of polluted water on
buildings were hard to gauge, according to experts.
In New Orleans, wind damage was greatest
in buildings four stories and taller, whereas one- and two-story
wood buildings bore more damage from flooding, according to
engineer Stephen Kelley, a consultant with Northbrook, Illinois-based
Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, who toured sites in Mississippi
and Louisiana.
Termite damage in wood frames, along
with previous flood damage, left many buildings vulnerable,
Kelley noted. The flooding and storm surges undermined foundations,
washed out walls, soaked and destroyed insulation, carpets,
wood, and drywall. Much of the water-soaked material will
need to be stripped out of buildings, although older wood,
with its denser growth rings is more resilient, and plaster
can be saved in some cases. Fortunately, the region’s
dry season is expected to aid the airing out, which along
with bleach or other disinfectants, will allow many wooden
buildings to be salvaged, according to Kelley.
Not surprisingly, buildings of lightweight,
particularly newer, construction suffered heavy damage, according
to Charles Harper, FAIA, of Harper Perkins Architects in Wichita
Falls, Texas, who toured areas in Texas and Louisiana. In
Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi, which saw a spate of hasty
construction in the mid-1900s, many of the houses of that
era were lost. Similarly, big box and warehouse buildings
along the coast did poorly. “If you’ve got big walls
with no pressure release, they’re just blown out,”
he said.
While many older buildings withstood
the hurricanes, the cost of repairing them can be significant.
In the meantime, preservationists worked to prevent the wholesale
razing of buildings. “[Claims adjusters] will tend toward
writing buildings off,” Kelley said. “The challenge
is to not go along with that.”
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