Dome Designed and Built for Hurricanes, Part 2

Valerie and Mark Sigler’s dome is highly insulated and made of reinforced concrete. The round shape of the house and its height above the ground, allowed the winds and rain to shear off aerodynamically.

The bulletproof windows chosen for the house can withstand hits from airborne lumber, at 120 miles per hour. The house has a coating of polyurethane for waterproofing. Continuous power is assured because the house has a generator.

Mark Sigler claimed that the cost of the “Dome of a Home” is comparable to traditional building styles even though it has amenities such as the bulletproof windows, a double staircase and a generator.

Resource:
Discovery Channel, Dome of a Home video:

http://www.domeofahome.com/news.asp

Dome Designed and Built for Hurricanes, Part 1

Valerie and Mark Sigler had a “Monolithic Dome” house built to withstand hurricane winds in excess of 300 miles per hour. Their prior dream home in Pensacola Beach, Florida was destroyed by hurricanes. The story of the Sigler family was aired on National Geographic Channel’s World Premiere Special, called “Hurricane Summer.”

Due to the safety of their new dome home, the Siglers had permission to stay on the island during the hurricanes of September 2004. They served as hosts to NBC News reporters during and prior to Hurricane Ivan.

During Hurricane Ivan, reporters stood outside the dome house until the wind was recorded at 65 miles per hour. Under such conditions, there was a high level of noise created by the winds, making it difficult for the reporters to be heard on camera while outside the house. More than four nearby houses were destroyed, according to Kerry Sanders, MSNBC.com correspondent.

After Hurricane Ivan, the smiling Mark Sigler was interviewed outside his rental dome home. Unlike the neighboring homes, his concrete dome house was still standing.

Resources:
National Geographic Channel’s World Premiere, Hurricane Summer: http://www.monolthicdome.com/thedome/index.html/

Hurricane Ivan, September 2004: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id6011773/

Hurricane Home

According to the AP on November 12, 2004, the population of the homeless people in Florida increased by 100 people per day as a result of the season’s four hurricanes. 3,100 Florida residents were still on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) waiting list for housing.

The state of Florida and the Federal government spent $22.5 million on mobile homes, of which $10 million was from FEMA. The agency purchased 5,000 smaller trailers ($25,000 each). As the first week of November 2004, less than 100 of the 350 three-bedroom homes were occupied.

Although FEMA stipulates standards on how structures should be built, it did not follow its own guidelines in the recent spending of hurricane aid. Research and tests have shown that concrete dome houses withstand hurricane conditions and are inexpensive to build.

The temporary homes that the government purchased could be destroyed in a future set of storms. Instead, FEMA should aid homeowners rebuild their homes with dome construction like the “Dome of a Home,” featured on Discovery Channel, MSNBC and the National Geographic Channel.

By aiding disaster victims with dome construction plans, materials and technical assistance, America could have created hundreds of new jobs and businesses. Since domes are easy to build, unemployed persons could have been employed in a movement to rebuild Florida’s housing with permanent, safe housing. The beneficiaries of government spending are the manufacturers of mobile homes, instead of the homeless residents. This is not a good strategy for spending America’s tax dollars.

Resources:
FEMA:

http://www.fema.gov/fima/aboutfima.shtm/

Hurricane Homeless increase by 100 per day:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WEATHER/11/12/hurricanes.housing.ap/

Dome of a Home:

http://domeofahome.com/news_detail.asp?ID=28”>http://domeofahome.com/news_detail.aspID=28

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040929/dcw080_1.html?printer=1