Officials eyeing Coast for post-Isaac solutions

MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST — Federal and Louisiana officials, looking for housing solutions for Hurricane Isaac-damaged parishes, are studying post-Hurricane Katrina housing built in Mississippi.

Jon Mabry of the Mississippi Development Authority’s Disaster Recovery Division led a tour of post-disaster housing complexes Wednesday, answering questions for representatives of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, FEMA and Louisiana disaster recovery housing.

After Katrina, The Sun Herald reports MDA administered a variety of disaster housing programs using HUD Community Development Block Grant money.

Mississippi cottages — modular homes funded as a pilot program through FEMA — were incorporated into some of those programs.

Housing components are connected from the roof down to the foundation, providing further protection from hurricanes. The cottages also are energy efficient.