It's been well over 10 years since I was stationed there, so my memory may be faulty, but I am not so sure that all of the buildings were built as sturdily as you say. Of course, that was pre-Andrew (by a few months), so maybe they upgraded the older buildings since then. But since this particular base straddles the river on both sides, I was actually more concerned about the flooding. If I recall correctly, the east bank side is on Dauphin Street. I don't remember the name of the major street on the west bank, but it was in the Algiers area. I imagine the East bank side is flooded out, or will be soon with this levee breech.

Margie, I'm glad your brother is ok!

-MB