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Questions abound about rebuilding in flood-prone areas.

Article Excerpt
MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST -- In Biloxi alone a fifth of the buildings--5,000 out of 25,000--have been destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. That means a huge rebuilding effort is needed, but there are questions about whether rebuilding will be commercially feasible in some of the lowest, flood-prone areas.

After Hurricane Camille, requirements were instituted to require structures to be built an average of 11 to 14 feet above sea level. With Katrina's storm surge being perhaps 10 feet higher than Camille's, if building codes were revised to require a minimum elevation of 25 feet, a lot of very valuable waterfront property could become unsuitable for building.

"Some of the building codes are going to be established by new federal directives regarding what can be built in a flood plain," said Biloxi spokesman Vincent Creel. "We are penalized if we allow construction to occur in low lying areas without stricter standards. For example, the city might be given higher flood insurance rates.

"We are fully of the belief we are going to be seeing a higher requirement in terms of elevation, particularly in East Biloxi. One thing the federal government is trying to avoid is recurring losses which drive up insurance...

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