Evacuation Before a Storm, and the Case for Rebuilding Re "How a Beach Community Became a Deathtrap" (front page, Nov. 11): Like most architects, I am concerned with the built environment, how people use it and the degree of complacency with which citizens view their surroundings. I am filled with sorrow and anger at the senseless loss of life at Midland Beach, Staten Island, and elsewhere in the Hurricane Sandy tragedy. I was surprised that people in Midland Beach went into their homes that fateful night to work on their computers and watch TV, despite government warnings. As it was anticipated to flood, the electricity and gas should have been shut off, and there should have been a ban on flame. This would have made it less conducive to those wanting to remain and more of a stimulus to leave. It is a mystery why people, in particular the elderly and the infirm, decide to stay when the government has warned them to evacuate, especially in single-story bungalows where there is no place to flee to. The building code differentiates mobility issues in hospital planning for fire and egress issues; this sort of planning should be instituted for dwelling units as well. As much as government tries to alert the populace, in the end, common sense rules. Don't put yourself in harm's way. It is up to each of us individually to avoid the bad choices that result in fatalities. Orrin H. Pilkey ("We Need to Retreat From the Beach," Op-Ed, Nov. 15) makes what appears to be a reasonable argument against rebuilding shorelines or homes near the beach destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Unfortunately, this is reminiscent of what New Orleanians heard after Hurricane Katrina: Why rebuild New Orleans, because it will always be prone to flooding? Since when did our country develop a standard that we abandon places prone to repeat disasters? People live in danger zones knowing that danger may strike again: San Francisco sits on a fault line, much of New Orleans is built below sea level, and the Eastern seaboard is a flood zone. In every case, community feeling and the attachment to home has trumped scientific facts and urban planning. The "resilient development" Mr. Pilkey refers to as a less good alternative to "retreat" can work. New Orleans and neighborhoods like the Lower Ninth Ward exist today because of significant improvements in their flood protection system, proving that the art of the possible can work. SCOTT COWEN President, Tulane University New Orleans, Nov. 19, 2012