The Third Trip to Mississippi for Katrina.

I made my 3rd trip to Mississippi to do inspections of Katrina Hurricane damage to residences on the residences Gulf Of Mexico and inland locations. On December 10 we moved the field office to New Orleans on Camp Street near the Superdome.

I did not see much of the damage in New Orleams. What I did see was a lot of traffic and a lot of people heading for Burbon St on a Saturday evening.

The coast is beginning to see a lot more clean up and a lot more reconstruction activity. The roads heading south to the coast from Jackson on Monday morning are full of pichkups with ladders and trailers full of shingles and sheetrock.

I hope that Pontis activity gets moving again in 2006. I don't think I want to do any more of the damage inspections.

Inland you find a lot of residences that had preexisting damage that owners hope to pass off as storm damage. I like to think the owners went looking for problems after the storm and found things they had not noticed before the storm. I hope they honestly believe what they claim. I also hope they accept the logical explainations and the evidence I provide the insurance companies.

Many inland problems can be explained by old water leaks that caused rot or old drainage problems that caused foundation settlement. The most common issue is cracks in brick veneer mortar. Often the cracks have been caulked numerous times. It is hard to believe owners truely believe that the wind caused these problems over night.