Houma, La., will tap FEMA grants to raise hurricane resilience standards on public buildings

The Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center and other public buildings in Houma, La., would be renovated to withstand Category 3 hurricane winds according to a plan being considered by the Parish Council.

Upgrades totaling about $2.2 million would increase the Civic Center’s wind tolerance to the 130 mph standard required for the northern part of the parish located near New Orleans. The plan includes new windows and a new roof to be built over the existing roof. Work would begin by the end of the year if the council approves the measure.

Money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program would pay 75% of the cost of the civic center project, with local government picking up the rest.

The Civic Center project is part of a $5 million plan to protect several public buildings, including the Houma Police Station, Government Tower, Generating Station, Fire Station and Public Safety Building. An historic courthouse may also be renovated.

(http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20140812/ARTICLES/140819917/0/search)

New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.