Saw in the New York Times that many people are asking for, and getting re-assessment of the percentage damage to their houses.
According to the guidelines, if a house is deemed to have more than 50% damage, it should be destroyed.
Most people who have appealed, however, have succeeded in getting the percentage of damage reduced to under 50%, so they can go ahead and repair and rebuild.
FEMA, etc., want the houses to be above a certain elevation so that they are unlikely to be flooded again, but there is no such requirement in City regulations.

What the outcome will be is up in the air at this time. FEMA is too slow with their evalutions and plans, and is losing credibility. People are just going ahead and doing their thing.