Hurricane Katrina: Buras, Triumph
Overview
On August 28, 2005, Hurricane Katrina’s fierce winds converged on Buras, Triumph Louisiana making its strongest landfall. Before dawn on the 29th, the town had been obliterated, leaving the iconic Buras water tower above as a very memorable touchstone to the destruction Katrina wrought.
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Case Details
Affiliated Adjustment Group was contracted for loss consulting shortly after the hurricane made landfall to assist one of the country’s largest privately held real estate companies. The hurricane damaged more than 16 locations compromising some 3.5 million square feet of space.
Emergent Concerns
The real property consisted of the largest shopping mall in Metairie, office buildings and residential apartment complexes in and around the City of New Orleans. The scope of damage was spread out over a large geographical area and gauging the full extent of the damage for the clients was a complex enterprise. AAG deployed their extensive network of service providers to assay the full damage and provide all of the assistance needed to navigate their clients through this disaster.
Major parts of the project included documenting $13,000,000 in emergency repairs, security, expediting expenses and property protection. Preparing, presenting, adjusting and settling over $10,000,000 in flood damages under the National Flood Insurance Program, $105,000,000 in property and over $7,000,000 in loss of income claims. Law and ordinance issues concerning flood plain and general code upgrade issues were also settled in excess of $3,000,000.
Recovery
Recovery and rebuilding efforts still continue in Buras, Triumph and adjacent communities. AAG, however, was integral in helping orchestrate relief and obtain rehabilitation funding for one of the most massive natural disasters in recent American history. A symbol of the recovery is the new Buras water tower; the old tower, collapsed in the rubble, was a powerful image used by the media to display Katrina's destructive might.