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 building codes didn’t come into place until 2002,” said Michael Newman, general counsel for the International Institute for 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 holding 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 establish 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.”
Though Louisiana was quick to pass a statewide building code post-Katrina, the state didn’t update its code in the ensuing years to keep up with international building codes. The ICC, for example, 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 season 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, the most destructive storm since Katrina. Insured losses from Ida amounted to approximately $14 billion.
“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.
Louisiana’s initiative was to be modeled verbatim from Alabama, where lawmakers in 2011 established a program for residential wind mitigation on single-family homes. The Strengthen Alabama Homes program was the first of its kind to award grants up to $10,000 to homeowners to retrofit their roofs to the Fortified standard. The state began giving out grants in 2016.
Alabama now has over 50,000 Fortified designations, and more than 80% of those are not supported by any public funding.
“What impresses me most is that they were brave enough to be the first mover,” said Newman. “Alabama said, ‘Hurricanes are displacing our families, they’re destabilizing our communities and they’re making our insurance market unhealthy.’ They decided to do something about it.”
In Louisiana, lawmakers were slower to act. It took until after the 2020-21 storms for the legislature to fund the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program.
“As is typical, the wolf was not at the door when we passed the bill the first time,” said Donelon. “But in the aftermath of Laura, Delta, Zeta and Ida, we needed insurance companies to come do business. Giving grants out, in particular to folks on coastal areas, is a long-term answer to our huge exposure to catastrophic events.”
Since launching in 2023, the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program has issued over 3,700 grants of up to $10,000. The number of homes Fortified without a grant has grown from under 1,000 to more than 5,500 over that period.
The cost of purchasing a Fortified roof can be a barrier for homeowners who are already struggling to keep up with rising insurance premiums.
Louisiana lawmakers tried to offset that cost passing a law that requires insurance companies to provide actuarial justified discounts to properties that meet the Fortified standard. Another law passed this year will give Fortified homeowners a personal income tax credit of up to $10,000.
“The program is vital for protecting our state against severe weather and making Louisiana a more attractive place for insurers to do business,” Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple said.
Photo: Aerial view of damage caused from Hurricane Katrina the day after the hurricane hit August 30, 2005. Photo by Jocelyn Augustino/FEMA
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