[extropy-chat] Anti-hurricane engineering

[Adrian Tymes]

Given the amount of damage that hurricanes have done
so far this year, and that many more hurricanes are
expected in coming years, I wonder if it might make
financial sense for fans of mega-engineering projects
like arcologies to pitch them as storm shelters?

Imagine, for example, a giant well 10 stories deep,
ringed with apartments or other facilities (a few
levels might be zoned for commercial use).  Add in a
spike down the center, mainly reserved for government
use (as a visual reminder that a good government
serves its citizens, and to reinforce open government
principles).  Most of the time, the well is open to
the sky, but it does have a concrete lid that can shut
to blot out inclement weather.  This lid is shaped to
rise above and drain away even flood-level water, but
its real use is when a hurricane draws near: it is
thick enough to withstand even a Cat 5 passing
overhead.  (It might need repairs afterwards, but it
keeps everything beneath safe for the duration.)  When
fully closed, it attaches to the spike (and possibly
other reinforcements) to prevent being simply pulled
off by the wind; there might also be multiple layers
of lids to prevent a single catastrophic breach.  (If
so, the innermost layer might be transparent glass or
plastic - weaker than concrete, and perhaps with holes
at ground level to allow access even when shut, but it
alone would offer all the protection needed for a
light passing rainstorm.  It would also allow people
to see if the second to last layer is breached during
a Cat 5, to allow for further emergency measures,
although sensors in the concrete itself would
hopefully give more advanced warning.)

Naturally, the structure could safely hold many more
people than could comfortably live there year-round,
so this could be an evacuation destination for
existing cities if several of these were built around
said cities.  (Alternately, for less densely populated
areas, one of these could be a central evacuation
destination and regional government center for entire
counties.)  If high population densities are desired,
I'm not sure it would be psychologically feasable to
have much more than 10 stories and still have a
functioning community, but one could build a cluster
of these wells and have tunnels (for mass transit and
for foot access) linking their lowest levels.  (Motor
vehicle access would be via nearby parking garages -
again, mostly underground, perhaps with their
entrances within the dome-protected area, but probably
not as well protected as the main well itself.  In
emergencies, incoming motor vehicles in excess of the
garage's capacity would be abandoned outside, or
parked within the dome but above the garage, well back
from the lip of the well.)

Besides the humanitarian benefits, we would wind up
with a very visible demonstration that technology
saves lives, in the center of what is reportedly one
of the more Luddite-friendly regions of the USA.  Wire
the place with fiber optics (from whatever 'net feed
can be arranged, possibly involving the feed supplier
managing the network under long-term lease), and build
in a public-access cybercafe (next to the library
and/or school) and maybe a few cleanrooms (to be
leased for any manner of small-scale nano/bio work, be
it production facilities or a startup's R&D space), to
reinforce the effect.