Contact: Phil Hearn
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Residences and other structures being replaced along the storm-shattered Mississippi Gulf Coast without regard for strengthened building codes are in "jeopardy" during this and future hurricane seasons, according to a new report.
"Structurally, buildings should be designed for both storm surge and wind," a team of Mississippi State civil engineers found in their recently released report titled "Coast in the Eye of the Storm: Hurricane Katrina, August 29, 2005."
The team, which also included researchers from the university's GeoResources Institute, finalized the report in March after conducting a six-month forensic study aimed at strengthening state building codes as an essential part of the Gulf Coast rebuilding effort.
Utilizing $30,000 in support from the Ready-Mix Concrete Research Foundation and $25,000 from the Mississippi Concrete Industries Association, the university team evaluated the wind and water impacts of Katrina on residential and commercial structures along the coast. Tom White, head of MSU's department of civil and environmental engineering, was team leader.
The team's report doesn't mince words: "There are projects under way for repair, reconstruction and development of the Gulf Coast. However, if such projects are not designed for potential hurricane effects, they will be in jeopardy during the next (2006) and subsequent hurricane seasons."
The team applauded the Mississippi Legislature for taking an "important step" earlier this year in authorizing Gulf Coast casinos to relocate from floating, water-based barges to land-based sites within 800 yards of the seashore. Some already are back in business.
"Projects on the Gulf Coast, such as casinos and other commercial development, can be planned and engineered to account for potential storm surge and winds," the writers observed. "However, residences and structures replaced or repaired without due consideration of potential storm surge and wind loads are in jeopardy and represent a serious, continuing liability."
Katrina was the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes in American history. The massive storm caused an estimated $75 billion in property damage across the coastlines of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana--including the devastating flooding in New Orleans--and killed at least 1,836 people.
The hurricane's 27-foot storm surge and sustained winds of 120 miles per hour--with gusts up to 135 mph--turned Mississippi coast structures into match sticks and spawned 11 tornadoes across the state. Some 238 people were killed in Mississippi and another 67 continue to be listed as missing.
"A combination of shallow offshore bathymetry (soil, rock and sand contours beneath the water's surface) and low onshore topography dictate the Mississippi Gulf Coast is highly susceptible to future hurricane damage from both winds and storm surge," the MSU engineers warned.
Yet, they noted, "Demand for commercial and residential development extends into areas with high risk of storm surge and flooding.
"Proposed building codes will increase design wind loads," they wrote. "However, an area of the coast and inland was subjected to winds 30 miles per hour higher than those being proposed."
They added: "More significantly, existing land-use policy did not anticipate storm surge magnitude experienced by a significant portion of the Mississippi Gulf Coast--and as a result, the most severe damage was caused by storm surge.
"A study of the building codes being proposed (by others) and the documents referenced for flood (storm surge) loads do not provide clear guidance on storm surge loading likely from a major hurricane," the engineers determined.
The Mississippi Construction Industry Coalition is proposing legislation that would establish a review board to oversee the implementation of a proposed statewide building code. The coalition includes an industry cross section of contractors, subcontractors, architects, engineers, as well as officials from the public and private sectors.
"Right now, there are no standard statewide building code requirements in Mississippi," said executive director Robert Varner of the Ridgeland-based concrete industries association. "It is left up to the city and county officials to determine."
In addition to White, other members of the MSU research team included civil engineering faculty members Bill McAnally, Dennis Truax, Harry Cole, Chris Eamon, Li Zhang, and Phil Gullett. The GeoResources Institute faculty members included Pat Fitzpatrick, Yee Lau, Sachin Bhate, and Yongzuo Li.
For more information on the report, contact Dr. White at 662-325-7185 or tdwhite@civil.msstate.edu.