THE CODE CONNECTION

No amount of words can paint the horrifying devastation left by hurricane Katrina. Just witness the non-stop news broadcasts.  I've witnessed first hand and provided disaster assistance to cities hurt by tornadoes and flooding here in Ohio.  It's nothing like the magnitude of destruction we have in the Gulf.  Hopefully, the rescue and recovery will come to an end soon so the Gulf Coast can begin the slow process of rebuilding.

Who will be there to help rebuild? There has been an outpouring of money and aid offered from individuals and organizations to provide the immediate aid that is required.  But it will take a LOT more than that.

We have to realize that the government can only do so much - and it won't be nearly enough.  Anyone who is familiar with FEMA, disaster response training and the interface of local, state and federal government will tell you that planning for an event of this magnitude is nearly impossible.  There will be lots of lessons learned for future generations.

The first thing to realize that most of the money goes to fixing those things that are essentially public improvements.  And, all the private property, homes, businesses, churches, institutions are left to rely on their own insurance.  The tens of thousands of uninsured families and businesses are last in line and may never recover economically.

This puts New Orleans, Gulf Port and hundreds of small cities and towns across the entire region in an almost unsurmountable position.  The lifeblood of a city isn't just the public infrastructure.  It's also the mass of private enterprise, commercial businesses, neighborhoods of homes and supporting institutions that plug into the public infrastructure that makes it work.  It takes both.  And without an economic strategy to rebuild both it could be a quarter century before the region fully comes to life again as we knew it a week ago.

Leaders in the construction industry are bracing for the impact and planning for the long term assistance.  This will be like a real live Sim-City that covers a whole region.  The American Institute of Architects, the International Code Council, a numerous other major construction related non-profit organizations, architects, engineers and contractors of all types are mobilizing to support the effort.  On the government side building officials and inspectors from cities across the county are planning ways to provide the additional support that will go on for months or years.

Godspeed to everyone volunteering - the rescuers and the re-builders.