Katrina Cottages are small residential shelters designed and marketed in the United States in the wake of Hurricane Katrina (August 2005). They were designed as a response to the inadequacies of the trailers issued to flood victims by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The homes' designs attempt to fulfill the needs of their occupants in a more permanent and humane manner, while addressing the challenges of building and protecting a home in the Gulf Coast region, particularly in southern Louisiana where much of the land currently used is below sea level and protected by levees. The cottages are also common in parts of storm surge damaged coastal Mississippi. Though designs may vary, the main aesthetic criterion is that Katrina Cottages resemble traditional homes in the area in