“I was just horrified at what happened to New Orleans, and the inadequacy of FEMA’s response,” she says. Simply put, a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, which results in more snow, rain and havoc. And although flooding is complicated by the way people divert, collect and store water, most climate scientists believe it will only get worse as Earth’s atmosphere warms. In the past two decades, the world’s 10 worst floods have displaced more than one billion people while causing an estimated US$165 billion in damage. Still, the need to improve amphibious design has never been more pressing. Even in Louisiana, residents of Old River Landing have been using amphibious design for more than 40 years to limit damage from Mississippi River floods. The Uro people have been building floating communities on Peru’s Lake Titicaca for centuries. Floating communities can be found throughout the Mekong Delta, and one of the largest slums in Africa - Makoko - is built on stilts and floating barrels in Lagos, Nigeria. The floats can be made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) - commonly used under floating docks - or plastic barrels.Īmphibious design is not new. A structural subframe is built with cross beams and buoyant blocks. To retrofit a home, it first has to be raised. “It says, ‘The water is going to come and we’re going to accommodate it.’ The water becomes your friend rather than your foe: It’s the water that lifts the house and carries it up to safety.” It’s not saying we have to stop the flood or move the water.
“It works with nature it’s not challenging nature. With buoyant foundations, the homes can rise straight up on guideposts when floodwaters move in and settle back in place when the water recedes.0617 float jpg University of Waterloo Professor Elizabeth English, an architect and engineer, is working with the National Research Council to develop two floating home prototypes for use on First Nations reserves in northern Canada. But advances are being made, English says, and existing models could be used in protected bays along the Ottawa River.
Article contentīuoyant foundations can only be used on homes without basements, and they’ve not yet been engineered to withstand the destructive force of fast-flowing rivers, ice floes or big waves. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
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