Safe room for house in stormy area

Remember these days last year: May 17, 2006, Typhoon Chanchu (No. 1 typhoon) appeared on the South China Sea, although it did not land in Vietnam but killed more than 200 Vietnamese fishermen fishing offshore. .

On October 1, 2006, Typhoon Xangsane (typhoon 6) devastated the central region, went directly to Da Nang, causing devastation and many casualties for this big city. On December 4, 2006, Typhoon Durian (typhoon No. 9) devastated Ba Ria - Vung Tau and Ben Tre . The spectacle before the storm was that tens of thousands of residents had to evacuate their homes to avoid storms, some in Quang Nam had to dig a tunnel. storm shelter according to folk experience and the scene after the storm is thousands of houses collapsed .

Thus, there are a few things to keep in mind: Typhoons are becoming more aggressive and attacking everywhere - ie there is no " stormy area " in the South as before; The architecture in our storm regions is currently not suitable in storm control; Vietnamese residents are more concentrated living along the coast (where the storms are most vulnerable) than before with thousands of beachfront resorts throughout the territory; All have not been trained to survive and deal with this natural hazard (every storm evacuating hundreds of thousands of people is not a good solution).

One of the important solutions of residents of stormy areas, tornadoes around the world is the regulation of building a storm-resistant safety room in the house (called safe room - SR). This is a solution to think in our country. According to experience in the US, SRs have saved many lives when people collapsed due to storms. In us, it is expensive to build an entire permanent house, but it is feasible to create a solid corner of a few m². (Central people from the war have had a lot of experiences in building tunnels in the house to avoid artillery shells or to avoid storms outside the yard .) Looking at thousands of squatter houses in Da Nang or the scene of persuading people to leave their homes to avoid storms before, we realize a viable solution to reconcile: building a SR at home and ensuring safety Network for people has solved the difficulty of evacuating tens of thousands of people .

On the other hand, don't forget the coastal resorts. Recently in Da Nang, Typhoon Xangsane broke the meeting room of an APEC pre-conference in Furama tourist area, nearly stalling an important workshop. But, remember, Furama is a solid resort, anyway, try all the resorts in Phan Thiet, Long Hai and Hoi An . you will realize the very light tropical architecture of bungalows at Here (straw roof, big glass door to see, wall to create a rural feeling .) all will be if the storm comes.

FEMA recommendations (American Disaster Prevention Organization) on SR construction:

It is best to do SR right after building a new house. But it will be more difficult to renovate and build more.

When building SR against storms, it is worth noting: unlike natural disasters like tornado, which only last a few minutes, the storm lasts for many hours, sometimes up to 12 hours. So SR should be large enough and have a facility to survive. Size if possible should be 1m² for one person. Water and minimal items, emergency supplies must be available in SR (including shifts to toilet). The dangers of storms apart from collapsing houses are sharp and iron materials flying everywhere with great speed (such as iron sheets, wood pieces, iron .) which often cause casualties. And then again, there is a sea level rise in coastal areas.

Therefore, when building a new house with a safe room or building more safe room for the old house to remember:

- First, the wall structure of SR must be independent (unbound) with the structure of the house. This helps SR not collapse when the house collapses.

- Secondly, if you plan to reinforce a room of the house (bathroom, warehouse .) to make SR, remember to reinforce the wall carefully to avoid the possibility of sharp objects being pierced.

- Thirdly, in places too close to the sea and with sea level rise when storms occur, it is not recommended to do SR, unless it ensures that the SRs are higher than that level.

Several convenient indoor locations to reinforce and create an SR:

Diagrams 1 and 2 show how storms and pressure on the walls and roof cause roof to collapse or collapse.The key is that when the storm winds break a door and smashes into the house, the wind pressure from both outsideand inside will easily destroy the house.

Diagram 3 is how to build a normal indoor ground SR.

Diagram 4: Many coastal resorts build bungalows for bungalows.Creating an SR for this type of house is more difficult because the SR structure principle must not be associated with the house structure.Therefore, when building SR here, it must be a foundation for it.This can be aesthetically pleasing to the floor.It is best to build an external SR on the ground connected to the stilt house.

Diagram 5: Some old and old French houses are found in Long Hai, if the house has a solid basement, it is convenient to build SR here, SR should rely on the corner of the house, have good ventilation and must be on sea ​​level rise.

Diagram 6: Tunnel wall corner, a protruding corner with 3 fronts, stand alone.

Diagram 7: On the ground floor, bathroom corner, warehouse, laundry room .

Lessons and illustrations: Luu Vi Lan
Photo: Ho Trung Tu