Arriving in Mississippi three days after Hurricane Katrina struck, the team observed intact, partially damaged, and demolished structures at sites in Pascagoula, Biloxi, Gulfport and other Mississippi coastal towns.
Prominent instances of concrete masonry walls withstanding the hurricane forces were noted at a Gulfport Kmart and Biloxi Wal-Mart store, plus a Harrison County building very near the Biloxi shoreline.
TMS, working together with the Council for Masonry Research (CMR) sponsored the investigation. The Society's Coordinator for their Investigating Disasters Program, Arturo Schultz (University of Minnesota), and TMS President Max Porter (University of Iowa) requested that authorities in the Gulf States region grant the team access to disaster areas and share information with the team members. For more information, visit the TMS Web site.
