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Saved by Breakaway Walls

Elevated concrete building with its ground-floor walls stripped away, leaving exposed support columns; a yellow fire hydrant stands on the grassy curb in front, with a boat visible through the open structure beyond.

Katrina damage two years later: While this building looks bad, it performed exactly as it was designed to. The walls of the first floor broke away, leaving the support columns and allowing the upper floors to safely ride out the storm (safe unless hit by a shrimp boat).

Citation

“Saved by Breakaway Walls,” Hurricane Digital Memory Bank, accessed November 3, 2026, https://hurricanearchive.org/items/show/33190.