As wildfires seasons keep getting longer and more severe, and as hurricanes become regular features in the news, residents across America are looking into ways to make their homes as robust as possible against the most common disasters in their regions, according to an article in The New York Times. With as much as a third of American homes being in regions at high risk of at least one type of natural disaster, the actions these adventurous individuals take will help to define housing resiliency for the future.
Says Tom Larsen, a principal at CoreLogic who does risk modelling, “These perils have always been there. But every time there’s a catastrophe that gets closer, people get that feeling of, ‘Wow, that could be me.’”
For some, in more fire prone regions, this has taken the form of Q cabins, steel buildings influenced by the old Quonset huts common during the second world war. Made by Design Horizons, these buildings are fire resistant, and feature a non-combustible sheathing, which in theory make them non-combustible up to 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit. Although not yet tested in the field, their structure has appealed to some of those who have lost homes to fire in previous wildfires.
Another alternative is being looked at by Michele Barbato, a professor of structural engineering in the department of civil and environmental engineering at UC Davis, who is examining the use of compressed earth block construction. This ancient technique has been shown to allow the construction of homes which are resistant to fire, hurricanes, and wind.
While these designs are still rare, the continued movement of people into areas at risk of disaster, and the growth in awareness of these threats, it is likely that individuals and companies will continue to work to develop new approaches to help minimize damage.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/12/realestate/disaster-proof-housing.html
