[StBernard] Levees versus raising homes

[Westley Annis]

Westley,
 
The word that we have is that if the Congress authorized a cat 5 system to
be built that it would take somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 years to
build.  Keep in mind that if a cat 5 hits houses raised to nine feet would
likely be damaged as well and the amount of lateral damage would be greater
than present.
 
The fact is this there is no conceivable way to protect against all the
variables- we live in an area that has certain inherent risks- the payoff
for that is the community we have.
 
Craig 
 
-----Original Message-----
** NOTE: This email is pure speculation and does NOT contain one absolute
fact **

The Army Corps of Engineers and Congress are facing a massive bill if they
want to improve the levees to handle a category five hurricane.  The
question that arose in my mind today, which is cheaper?

Would the total expenditure be cheaper and quicker to implement if everyone
had to raise their homes nine feet above sea level?  Could this be done
faster than the 15-20 years it would take to build the levees to category 5
protection?

I'm sure in some cubicle somewhere, someone is working on generating a
dollar and time figure for both scenarios.

Westley