medeek
Structural
- Mar 16, 2013
- 1,104
This topic is a bit off the beaten path for me and may not be appropriate for this particular board of the forum however I do know that the next itteration of the ASCE 7 will have a new chapter dealing with Tsunami Loads and Effects. I will be very interested to see the particulars of this chapter. Based on what I have read so far it will not apply to standard low rise residential structures. Obviously, the cost associated with designing a structure that could resist the loads imposed by even a minor tsunami (5-10 ft) would put these measures outside the range of a typical residential budget.
The recent article in The New Yorker:
has got me seriously thinking about the tsunami threat again here in Ocean Shores, Washington (where I do most of my work). Currently there is one road out of the town (peninsula) with an average elevation of less than 20 feet. The entire town is within the inundation zone of a major tsunami and it appears that we are overdue for one.
Given a recent study by the USGS it is all the more obvious that the only way to save lives in this community and others is with vertical evacuation. I like the idea of large mounds created strategically throughout the city with parks or other public facilities on top of them, however the cost of building up such mounds/structures will probably take some time to push through the system politically and financially.
In the short term I am wondering if a large barge like vessel(s) could provide an acceptable means of escape/evacuation. The vessel(s) could be easily be brought in offshore and then winched up onto dry land. They would need to be large enough to be able to withstand any debris or forces thrown at it by a tsunami and not be punctured or overturned. If they were large enough they would simply be picked up by the tsunami and smash through anything in their path. Think of them as large "tsunami lifeboats". As with any idea there are probably issues I am missing, tell me the flaws in this concept given your engineering judgement and insight.
What really gets me though is the sign posted right as you enter into Ocean Shores: A Tsunami Ready Community. Nothing could be further from the truth.
A confused student is a good student.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, PE
The recent article in The New Yorker:
has got me seriously thinking about the tsunami threat again here in Ocean Shores, Washington (where I do most of my work). Currently there is one road out of the town (peninsula) with an average elevation of less than 20 feet. The entire town is within the inundation zone of a major tsunami and it appears that we are overdue for one.
Given a recent study by the USGS it is all the more obvious that the only way to save lives in this community and others is with vertical evacuation. I like the idea of large mounds created strategically throughout the city with parks or other public facilities on top of them, however the cost of building up such mounds/structures will probably take some time to push through the system politically and financially.
In the short term I am wondering if a large barge like vessel(s) could provide an acceptable means of escape/evacuation. The vessel(s) could be easily be brought in offshore and then winched up onto dry land. They would need to be large enough to be able to withstand any debris or forces thrown at it by a tsunami and not be punctured or overturned. If they were large enough they would simply be picked up by the tsunami and smash through anything in their path. Think of them as large "tsunami lifeboats". As with any idea there are probably issues I am missing, tell me the flaws in this concept given your engineering judgement and insight.
What really gets me though is the sign posted right as you enter into Ocean Shores: A Tsunami Ready Community. Nothing could be further from the truth.
A confused student is a good student.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, PE
