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Katrina Rebuilding Proceeds By Fits and Starts
NAHB representatives attending the Mississippi Recovery Expo in Biloxi earlier this month were reminded afresh of the seemingly insurmountable challenges confronting home builders and home owners working to rebuild after last year’s hurricanes.
At the start of the 2006 storm season, Hurricane Katrina was back in the news last week when Mississippi home owners lost a lawsuit against their insurance company seeking coverage from storm surge damage and the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) ordered air testing for formaldehyde in the trailers it has provided for displaced residents in the devastated area.
Gulf Coast rebuilding efforts have proceeded by fits and starts, amid the best intentions of home builders. “It’s a fragmented situation, and it’s a series of delays and problems,” said NAHB National Vice President Fred Griffin of Griffin & Associates.
“It’s little things, things you used to take for granted. Everybody has got some kind of problem getting it back together,” he said.
As an example, Griffin said that when his company began to plan construction on two new homes in Bay St. Louis, it had difficulties getting the property surveyed. The houses on the property had been demolished by the storm — along with the nearby landmarks that the surveyors would need to make accurate measurements. “It took them more time, and cost a little more money,” Griffin said.
Bridges have not been repaired and entire roadways are gone, transforming once routine trips into two- to three-hour ordeals, he said. “You can’t just say you’ll run over here or run over there anymore.”
Without enough employees or customers, restaurants have cut back on their hours. Little inconveniences have combined to become big problems. “It’s not one big thing, it’s dominoes. You line them up and push them over,” Griffin said.
The Gulf Coast casinos, major employers in the region, have begun to reopen, and in some cases are providing living accommodations for their workers, who can’t find other housing available yet, he said.
Insurance Premiums Cost-Prohibitive
Where to put workforce housing remains a significant problem for the region. Many people who want to rebuild on the sites of their old homes can’t afford to do so even with money from government subsidies or insurance claims, because they don’t have the income to qualify for home owners’ insurance premiums that in some cases top $12,000 per year in flood-prone areas.
But to rebuild farther from the shoreline means that infrastructure must be created where none now exists. Builders then have to find workers to build the homes, officials to issue permits and inspectors to approve the finished product, and all are in short supply.
Furthermore, moving inland is not an option for a casino worker, who, with an average annual salary rarely higher than $15,000 to $20,000, cannot afford a long commute at today’s gas prices, Griffin said.
‘Katrina Cottages’ Ready to Roll
NAHB Building Systems Council Executive Director Jeremy Bertrand and Codes & Standards Specialist Ken Ford attended the Mississippi Recovery Expo in Biloxi, where NAHB teamed up with the Modular Building Systems Association to promote the role of modular housing as a safe, well-made choice for both temporary and permanent affordable homes.
One topic of discussion at a builder forum during the expo was the need to get residents out of the temporary FEMA trailers, which are not designed for long-term residence. Before mid-October, the state plans to submit a proposal to the agency that would channel FEMA money from the state to multiple vendors who are ready to produce “Katrina Cottages,” one version of which was displayed last January at the 2006 International Builders' Show in Orlando, Fla.
The original 300-square foot modular cottage has been joined by larger models and also now comes in panelized and stick-built versions, Bertrand said. “In time, the consumer could purchase the home from the state. This could be quite an opportunity for modular and panel manufacturers if they are willing to work with the design specifications that have been developed.”
Meanwhile, Mississippi builders are working slowly to help their fellow residents — many on their own time. Griffin’s church has been sponsoring “mud-outs” in which members of the congregation spend a couple days of each month on clean-up efforts. “They go into houses and drag the furniture out, scrape the mud out and strip the drywall off the wall and get it down to the studs,” Griffin said. Even this can be dangerous work, as several volunteers have developed staph infections from the mold running rampant in the water-damaged houses.
It doesn’t stop Mississippians from moving ahead, he said. “There’s a collective effort, there is still a real strong will among the people to persevere and get through this thing. This is home, and they intend to stay here.”
For more information, e-mail Calli Schmidt at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8132.
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