[xoxoxoBruce]

This Old House last week was at the Jersey Shore where blocks of houses were destroyed. They were talking to all these people who were rebuilding but the main floor was raised 10 ft so they'll "never have to worry again".

That made me think of William Jeanes and his wife during Katrina.

Our house at 116 West Scenic Drive in Pass Christian, Mississippi, sat 30 feet above sea level and perhaps 60 yards from the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico. In the hours before Katrina, soothsayers and entrails readers at the networks predicted a worst-case scenario of the sea surging 19 to 21 feet higher than normal. But we have a two-story house, and the upper floor sits 11 or 12 feet above the ground, and there are no interior stairways. Which is why we spent the entire nightmare on the second floor.
~snip~
Consider that our lot is 72 feet across. A symmetrical cubic yard of water is three feet wide, so 24 of the watery cubes would stretch the width of the property. The surge at its zenith sent water more than three yards high at us, meaning that as many as 72 cubic yards of water were pasting the house at any given moment. Seventy-two cubic yards of water weighs 60.6 tons, and if that's not enough to chill your nipples, the water was moving at 30 or 35 mph.
~snip~
"Look at that," Susan said, pointing to the kitchen floor. Foot-square black-and-white tiles, giving the effect of a giant checkered flag, floored the large room. The flag was waving.

"Never have to worry again."