Amphibious Homes
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Transcript Amphibious Homes
Fabian Nehrbass
Thailand $45 billion dollars damage due to
floods in the past two years
Australia $9.6 billion
1.4 million people live in Louisiana’s coastal
parishes
634,000 homes
New Orleans sea level rise:
8” by 2030
19” by 2050
Levees
Restoration of wetlands
Sediment use form Mississippi to rebuild land
Abandon land
Adapt!
Allows the home to sit close to the ground,
and in the event of a flood, rise up with the
rising water
Increased vulnerability of the structure to
wind damage
Elevations are expensive
$40,000-$60,000 to elevate vs. $25,000 to retrofit
existing house with floating foundation
Difficult access to living areas
Loss of character
No loss of character
Cheaper than elevating
No issues with soil subsidence
Less vulnerable to hurricane damage
FEMA does not believe they are a good
strategy to protect against hurricane flooding
Storm surge can still push water into such a
home
Still need to evacuate
Only work in areas where water rises slowly
Size and weight limitations
**National Flood Insurance Program will not
insure floating houses because they are not
considered anchored to the ground**
Chance they aren’t allowed
In Lakeview, house wasn’t allowed in “special
flood hazard zone”
More susceptible to wind damage?
Suggestions
Shotgun retrofitting
Buoyancy blocks and a vertical guidance system
interconnected by a light structural frame
Utility lines have either long, coiled
“umbilical” lines or self-sealing “breakaway”
connections that disconnect gas and sewer
lines when the house begins to rise
Netherlands
Maas River
Prison
Greenhouses
Maldives – designed by Watersudio
Raccourci Old River, Louisiana
9th Ward
Lakeview
UK
$310,000 each (about 25% greater)
All survived major floods in 2011
No flood insurance, no success
Frequency of storms?
Wind protection?
Float them down the river to Baton Rouge!