tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315579333067639553.post4257886400454007572..comments2023-09-16T04:04:05.052-05:00Comments on Mad Engineering: Floodproof HouseProfessor Preposteroushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07833576109973350556noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315579333067639553.post-76966681995198920162010-10-13T19:21:38.473-05:002010-10-13T19:21:38.473-05:00Is this like how in the US, people built houses in...Is this like how in the US, people built houses in drained swamps and then got all furious when the dam inevitably failed and their house flooded?<br />Because I can't tell you how many stupid places we live in. Here's some examples:<br />Malibu, CA: Beautiful, beach side town that falls into the pacific ocean every time it rains. (It's built on unstable sand constructs that slide every time they get wet.) Somehow manages to stay insured and come back every time.<br />Galveston, TX: Town built on a sandbar island, which sinks beneath the waters of the gulf of Mexico every time a hurricane comes nearby, or the ocean rises, or there's a big storm surge.<br />Los Angeles, CA: Surrounded on three sides by mountains, trapping the brown smoggy air until the wind blows towards the ocean. Yeah, building roads for a gazillion cars in these conditions was <b>such a smart idea</b>.<br />Phoenix, AZ: Yes, let's build a big city in a super-hot desert where there's no water to speak of whatsoever!<br />Southern Florida in General: Swamp. Was drained with pumps and held back by dams. The dam inevitably fails. Somehow home insurance keeps paying for it.<br />New Orleans, LA: Technically beneath sea level, kept dry by only an elaborate pumping system. Should be rebuilt on the other side of the lake where it won't be routinely destroyed, but won't be.<br /><br />....the list goes on and on. I guess we Americans don't react well to being told that no, this is not a smart place to have a city.Professor Preposteroushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07833576109973350556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315579333067639553.post-52346852528750345552010-10-13T16:55:47.362-05:002010-10-13T16:55:47.362-05:00Its already been done, idiots built on flood plain...Its already been done, idiots built on flood plains in the UK in the 1990s (and then had the gall to call it global warming). Such houses are defended by pumping the cavity walls with this sort of riot foam stuff which hardens into a nasty plastic type thing. Then the door gets a barrier put at the bottom. And bingo it is water tight. <br /><br />Heh my dad's HK place is also water tight too, it is also airtight and several people living next door in similar homes have suffocated when they close the windows to keep the mozzies outThe Chinese guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02042709338416365751noreply@blogger.com