AEI Task Committee to Study the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina Preliminary Findings

-Debris in New Orleans left by Hurricane Katrina as seen by AEI assessment team in early Dec.

In early December 2005, AEI's Task Committee to Study the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina sent a multidisciplinary team of professionals to New Orleans to study the performance of architectural systems during Hurricane Katrina.

The multi-disciplinary team lead by Adam Hapij, P.E., consisted of a variety of architectural and engineering experts including: Dudley McFarquhar, Ph.D., P.E., Scott Hill, P.E., Ken Herceg, P.E., Mitch Simpler, P.E. and Amar Chaker, Ph.D. They spent three days in New Orleans investigating critical facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes and buildings used as unintended areas of refuge.

The team visited several critical facilities including: East Jefferson General Hospital, The Children's Hospital of New Orleans, Lafon Home Nursing Facility of UMC, University of New Orleans and East Haven Care and Rehab Center to assess:

• Building Envelope
• Structural Systems
• Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing
• Civil Engineering Systems
• Life Safety and Fire Protection

The intent of both the assessment team and the task committee is not to assign blame of find fault, but rather to understand what worked and what did not during the storm and in the days following. A survey was also conducted among building operators to help identify specific actions that were taken during the storm in regards to:

• Sustainability/recovery
• Potable water
• Wastewater/sanitation disposal
• Intended/unintended area of refuge

The team noted in most cases the building envelope remained intact with some loss of glazing. During severe weather building envelopes often breach, which leads to structural element failures ands material loss or economic impact from the water infiltration.

Structural systems viewed by the team experienced damage from the storm. They found several instances of roof and curtain wall damage. One hospital facility reported movement in upper floors, while another three-story building was subjected to significant lateral pressure due to high wind loads. The structural response made the elevator to act as a shear wall. The team found no evidence of hazard for local instabilities that would lead to collapse.

-AEI assessment team meets with East Jefferson Gerneral Hospital staff during their visit. From left: Adam Hapij, P.E., Mitch Simpler, P.E., Pau Burke of East Jefferson, Rip Coston of East Jefferso, Ken Herceg, P.E.,Dudley McFarquar,Ph.D., P.E. and Scott Hill P.E.

The team investigated facilities to identify those systems deemed absolutely necessary for the prolonged operation of critical facility during a disaster. They found that sustaining emergency power, having adequate potable water, the ability to communicate with the outside world and maintaining a cooling system are all vital to remaining functional during a disaster.

The high winds sustained during Hurricane Katrina resulted in the loss of electrical power, municipal water supply, loss of communication systems, flooding and damage to building envelope, all of which negatively impacted the availability and condition of fire protection systems.

Please look for a more detailed preliminary findings report in the upcoming edition of Means, Methods and Trends, AEI's joint on-line publication with the Construction Institute. Also the Task Committee will present a session at the 2006 AEI Conference: Building Integration Solutions, held March 29-April 1 in Omaha, Nebraska. A detailed report is expected to be released in early Fall of 2006.