Can your city survive the apocalypse?

The destruction of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina was heralded as a wake-up call for the U.S., a catastrophe that illustrated the scale of the threat from natural disasters, and the inadequacy of preparations. But for all the earnest talk of 'learning lessons' that followed, no grand reform agenda was put in place to revitalize a city that remains devastated and deeply vulnerable. Hamstrung by its position -- much of New Orleans sits below sea level -- ancient infrastructure and widespread poverty, the next disaster could be the city's last. Hurricane Sandy underlined the urgency by ruthlessly exposing New York's structural weaknesses, paralyzing power, water and transport networks as the lights went off across Manhattan. California also suffered as historic droughts settled in, and the 2014 wave of winter storms terrorized the North, emphasizing that extreme conditions were here to stay and could strike anywhere. This bought the U.S. into line with the global situation. The U.N.'s global risk report anticipates a record $314 billion of damage through natural disasters each year, exacerbated by the effects of climate change such as rising sea levels and more common 'freak' weather conditions. The report also highlights a widespread lack of preparedness and "continuous mispricing of risk." Responding to disaster Of course, there are few easy answers to how to withstand a hurricane or ferocious drought. Eye-catching novelties such as Vincent Callebaut's prefab coral reef design in Haiti, or Dan Nelson's tsunami-proof house offer originality but are difficult to scale. A more grounded and systematic approach to resilience is beginning to emerge. Boston narrowly escaped a battering from Sandy but remains threatened by rising sea levels, and the city recently sought designs for a new age with its ground-breaking competition 'Living with Water.'