clients & projects

On August 28, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf, destroying thousands of structures and causing billions of dollars of damage.

The storm generated significant hurricane winds and one of the greatest storm surges on record. Storm surge is the devastating wall of water pushed to the shore by a hurricane. A critical issue in question was whether damage of certain buildings was caused by the hurricane winds, storm surge or a combination of both.

Wind and waves from the storm surge create dynamic loads on buildings which can be very complex to analyze. CTLGroup utilized our established expertise with storm damage investigations, advanced structural analysis and methods such as LIDAR topographic measurements to differentiate the effects of wind and surge.

Analyses by CTLGroup provided authoritative determination of the cause of destruction based on rigorous analysis of available information and application of scientific principles.

CTLGroup's investigative team included experts with extensive experience in the response of structures to extreme loading conditions. In addition to studying hurricane effects, CTLGroup experts have conducted tornado damage evaluation for FEMA, written books on designing structures for blast resistance and led investigations of the World Trade Center and Oklahoma City attacks on behalf of the Federal Government. This broad background in building response to extreme conditions provides a basis for CTLGroup to provide authoritative legal testimony on such matters.