From
Wikipedia:
"Biomimicry (from bios, meaning life, and mimesis, meaning to imitate) is a relatively new science that studies nature, its models, systems, processes and elements and then imitates or takes creative inspiration from them to solve human problems sustainably."
If you want to use hurricane Katrina as an example: There are hurricanes every year & there always will be. But what types of animals and plants survive storms & floods? Can we study them to design more storm resistant buildings & towns?