On Aug. 25, Hurricane Katrina crossed the Florida peninsula as a Category 1 storm and entered the Gulf of Mexico. When it next struck ground in Louisiana near the Mississippi state line on Aug. 29, it was a Category 4 storm that left a wide swath of death and destruction in its wake as it moved inland. As the country is beginning to absorb the human cost and the scope of the devastation, once again the roofing industry is in the vanguard of the recovery.
Once lives are saved and survivors are taken to safety, preventing further damage to property and ensuring that critical facilities are protected are among the top priorities as roofing contractors make impossible choices over where to start. A calculus with large numbers will be needed to address the multi-state destruction of Hurricane Katrina.