Maybe it's the engineer in me, but I don't see the sense in not taking the time and rebuilding damaged and destroyed structures to the updated codes. This to me is not a bad thing. We have people in our community and on this forum who declare we should rebuild first and worry about code later. With regard to them, I ask this: what do you think the chances are that when the time would come (be in a few week or few years) for these rebuilt houses and businesses to be updated to code, these concerned citizens would bemoan the unfairness of forcing people who already spent all their money rebuilding the houses and business to spend even more money on upgrades to meet code (codes obviously concocted by a cabal consisting of Robert Witt, Stan Pate and Walt Maddox with the aim of turning Tuscaloosa into giant UA-themed resort and theme park)? My guess is "very high".

Brushing aside the hypothetical, it just makes sense to double down the money being spent to clean up and rebuild the devastated neighborhoods and commercial zones into something better than what was already there.