Gulf Coast Builders Turn To Concrete Stilts, Ballistic Nylon Shutters

[hatrack]

On the Gulf Coast of Texas, Jim Hayes is building houses on concrete stilts that he says will shrug off winds of more than 130 miles an hour and will easily survive the worst hurricane flooding. Near Orlando, Fla., modest but striking cottages are being built with safe rooms and ballistic nylon storm shutters. In the Florida Panhandle, Jason Comer is putting up a village of gleaming white mansions with eight-inch concrete walls and heavy, ridged concrete roofs.

After two years of horrendous hurricanes, with more catastrophic weather expected, a few dozen developers and contractors along the Southern coasts, from Texas to the Carolinas, have begun to produce a new generation of houses designed to withstand just about anything that nature can throw at them. "We're building tanks," Mr. Comer said of his upscale development in the Florida Panhandle.

Until now, few buyers have been interested in superstrong houses. Those houses have usually cost far more and often looked more like ugly ducklings than cozy havens. Nor did officials along the Southern coasts generally require builders to fortify their construction. Florida began toughening building codes after the devastation of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, but it has been the exception. Until recently, building requirements were minimal in Mississippi and Louisiana.

But many of the new homes are proving more appealing. Demand has jumped sharply, and insurance companies are even offering policies at a discount in coastal areas where they are otherwise cutting back on coverage. "People have seen what has happened in Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi and they know that what has happened can happen again," said Gopal Ahluwalia, the vice president for research for the National Association of Home Builders.

EDIT

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/22/business/22fortress.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Yes, that's the answer - we'll get into an arms race with Nature!

:eyes:

[jobycom]

1. From the beach in Pass Christian, Mississippi

To be fair, it was one of the few things that was standing at all