Twenty years ago, Hurricane Katrina devastated America’s Gulf coast and overwhelmed the city of New Orleans. The destruction and the response to the storm became infamous and are debated to this day.

Climate scientists warn that the warming world is likely to make typhoons, cyclones and hurricanes more intense and so even more dangerous.

Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar ask what the world has learned since the disaster in New Orleans, and how we can build cities that can stand up better to more extreme weather events.

They chat to Prof Reggie DesRoches, an engineer who was on the ground in the aftermath of Katrina to help find out what had gone wrong. His work specialises in adapting infrastructure for natural disasters, including developing innovative materials and practical techniques that might just help us adapt to more violent storms.

Can we build a world where hurricanes can't kill?

Guest: Prof Reggie DesRoches, President, Rice University, Houston

Presenter: Graihagh Jackson with Jordan Dunbar
Producers: Jordan Dunbar, Di Richardson and Nik Sindle
Sound mix: Tom Brignell and Sarah Kimberley
Editor: Simon Watts

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