Ten years after Katrina, University Medical Center New Orleans was built to withstand pretty much anything Mother Nature can throw at it, according to an article on USA Today website.
The façade of the $1.1 billion facility was designed to withstand debris flying at 200 mph. The hospital was designed to operate for seven days without access to outside electricity, water or other supplies.
The costly ways to weather-harden a facility can range from building large water-storage tanks to installing multiple utility connections and backup generators. But other changes can cost little or nothing.
University Medical Center, for instance, placed all of its emergency-department equipment on the second floor, above flood levels.
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