Tornado-Proof Home

I came across a very interesting article recently on Business Insider that talks about the plans to build a tornado-proof home. The home will have the ability to move underground in order to avoid damage by the tornado. The architecture firm that is attempting to make this unique structure is Hong Kong based 10 Design. The design will be “small, expensive, and made of concrete, but that’s a small price to pay when compared to the cost of rebuilding after disasters or preventing loss of life.”

Tornadoes are most prevalent in the United States and account for nearly $1 billion dollars in damages each year. There are an average of 1,200 tornadoes that strike the United States each year. What if you had the ability to simply dodge the tornado by going underground? Although the homes that 10 Design are looking to build will be very expensive, they have the ability to avoid damage and loss of life.

The current prototype is a 900 square foot box that has two bedrooms. To put that in perspective, it will be the size of most New York City apartments. There will be four hydraulic lifts in each corner of the house that will lift up and down when appropriate. When weather is nice with no storm looming, the house sits on top of the earth like any normal house would. When necessary, it slides 10 feet down into the earth into a bunker like structure that provides 400 additional square feet for storage.

If a power outage were to occur, homeowners can “release the hydraulic fluid and the lifts will collapse. Underground backup generators will keep electricity flowing to the subterranean shelter even when power lines are down. The house will also have multiple emergency hatches so dwellers can escape should one of the lifts fail, or the roof is blocked by debris.”

The homes are envisioned to cost anywhere from $300,000 to $500,000 dollars. It makes you wonder if something like this is worth it. For areas that are so prone to these devastating storms it might be viable option to consider.

via Karen Jensen http://karenjensenpeoria.net/tornado-proof-home/