When Hurricane Katrina made landfall in southern Louisiana 20 years ago, the region was ill-prepared for the 125 mph winds and catastrophic flooding that would follow.
Louisiana, like the rest of the United States, was still adopting modern international building codes, which had just gone into effect a few years prior.
“The good wind protections that we now all sort of take for granted in bu
ilding codes didn’t come into place until 2002,” said Michael Newman, general counsel for the International Institute f
or Building & Home Safety (IBHS). “It’s maybe not so surprising that Louisiana wasn’t up to date at that time.”
Louisiana lawmakers addressed building codes promptly by hold
ing a special session in December 2005. Legislators passed a measure establishing a mandatory statewide building code in line with the International Code Council (ICC).
Kathleen Blanco, then governor of the Pelican State, and various insurance groups supported the effort to est
ablish a uniform building code, while opponents claimed it would drive up construction costs and would be hard to implement on a local level.
Jim Donelon, the former Louisiana Insurance Commissioner, credits Blanco for having the political will to push statewide building codes through the legislature.
“That was a heavy lift, because half of our 64 parishes didn’t have building codes,” said Donelon. “They didn
’t have permitting offices. They didn’t have inspectors on the payroll. All of that was going to be expensive for them to stand up.”
See more beautiful photo albums Here >>>
Though Louisiana was quick to pass a statewide building code post-Katrina, the state didn’t update its code in the en
suing years to keep up with international building codes. The ICC, for exa
mple, updates its model codes every three years to account for technological and material improvements and new safety concerns.
It wasn’t until Louisiana experienced another onslaught of hurricanes in 2020-21 that the state responded by bringing its code up to date. The 2020 hurricane se
ason was the most active on record, with Hurricanes Laura, Delta and Zeta causing $10.6 billion in insured losses.
Louisiana was battered again the following year by Hurricane Ida, th
e most destructive storm since Katrina. Insured losses from Ida amounted to approximately $14 billion.
Related:
20 Years Later, Hurricane Katrina’s Impact Echoes in Models, Mitigation and Reforms
Katrina 2005-2025: Property Policy Evolution
When Luck Runs Out: Where $100B Hurricanes Might Happen
A Mississippi City’s Tax Break Spurred Post-Katrina Building
The Ghost of Hurricane Katrina Haunts Catastrophe Modelers
“Following that really bad string of hurricanes, a bunch of stakeholders came together and said, ‘We need to update our code,'” said Newman.
Louisiana updated its statewide building code in 2021, bring the state in line with modern international codes.
The destruction from Hurricanes Laura, Delta, Zeta and Ida pressured politicians to seek other ways to grow the state’s resiliency against future storms.
Donelon, as insurance commissioner, pushed lawmakers to establish a program that would give grants to residents to retrofit their roofs to standards set by the IBHS.
Fortified roofs have stronger edges, a sealed roof deck, impact-resistant shingles and are better attached. The roofs are designed to withstand winds up to 130-150 mph, thus protecting a home in the event of a Category 3 or 4 hurricane.