2014 TCS Competition for

High School Students

SUSTAINABLE URBAN ENVIRONMENTS


Jericho High School

Jacklyn Yoon
Steve Zheng
Problem: 615,000 housing units were either damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy (Eric et
al. 2013). Kerry Emanuel, a leading scientist on hurricanes and climate change at MIT, stated
that tropical storms will become more frequent as average atmospheric temperature continues to
increase (Emanuel 2013). The devastation from Hurricane Sandy exploited current
infrastructural vulnerability (Walsh 2013). Therefore, the next projected hurricane, likely to hit
within the next 50 years, will unquestionably cause more calamity than Hurricane Sandys $50
billion worth of damages (Rice 2013).Currently, 67,000 coastal homes in NY and NJ (Botts et al.
2013) are prone to flooding and major storms. Since the last New England storm in 1938, most
homes within the last 75 years were not built to be hurricane proof (Blodget 2012) Due to the
inadequacies of these homes, it is crucial to improve upon current architectural designs for the
resistance of tropical storms.
Potential Damage: Destruction of homes from storm surges will undoubtedly become more
prevalent as sea levels continue to rise (Bosello 2013, 1-13). Although a large number of homes
are being rebuilt along the coastal regions to accommodate an increasing population, severe
economic damages from future storms will wreak havoc among these infrastructures if no action
is taken since the next predicted storm will be more catastrophic than Hurricane Sandy (Walsh
2013). Dr. Robert Hartwig, an economist and the president of the Insurance Information Institute,
stated Future storms could prove even costlier, reaching upwards of $100 billion" (Mandia
2013). Furthermore, there was also a psychological and emotional distress on the hurricane
victims which led to clinical depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (Norris et al. 1999). In
addition, the poor designs of infrastructure also resulted in the need for relocating residents
during flood warnings. During Hurricane Sandy, approximately 20,000 people were removed
from their homes and placed into hurricane safety shelters (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention 2013). However, during relocation, emergency evacuation and transportation become
a major hazard in the midst of the storm. Those who are unable to evacuate are also at high risk
of injury and death from the severity of the storm. Hurricane Sandy alone took the lives of 117
civilians; twenty deaths were attributed to flooded homes that were inadequately equipped to
fight against the roaring waters of Hurricane Sandy. Therefore, improvements in home design
will protect the innocent lives of those subjected to detrimental storms in the future.
Proposal: In order to mitigate the damages of coastal homes from future hurricanes, new
measures and standards need to be implemented. In the overall design of coastal homes, five
unique propositions are presented: underground support columns, grade beams, concrete/steel
columns, house frame, and roof support. Four beams of 10 feet concrete or steel columns will be
inserted underground, layered with a 2 feet thick flat concrete slab on ground level to support
and distribute the overall weight of the house (Collins et al. 2005, 676-83). Then, 25 feet of
reinforced concrete columns, built on the concrete slab, will lift the house up above ground level
(Hanna 2008). The frame of the house will be bolted to the four or more concrete columns, using
retrofit connectors (Thompson 2005), to provide overall stability. The roof will be secured to the
house with metal straps; hurricane resistant shingles (Frankoski and Jolitz 1998) will be nailed
on with six inch nails. As a result, the structure of this house will provide certain advantageous
over the current designs of coastal homes. The underground beams will prevent homes from
getting rooted due to high levels of flooding while the concrete bed will help stabilize the house
in an upright position. The 25 feet columns above ground level will elevate the house to prevent
flooding. The reinforcements such as the improved framework and strengthened roof shingles
will mitigate the adverse effects of future hurricanes. Clearly, the combination of these new
measures will provide superior protection in the event of a major tropical storm.
Bibliography
Blake, Eric S., Todd B. Kimberlain, Robert J. Berg, John P. Cangialosi, and John L. Beven II.
Tropical Cyclone Report Hurricane Sandy. Report no. AL182012. N.p.: National
Hurricane Center, 2013.

Blodget, Henry. "Hurricane Sandy Is Being Compared To The Worst Hurricane Ever To Hit
New England." Business Insider. Last modified October 28, 2012.
http://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-sandy-vs-hurricane-of-1938-2012-10.

Bosello, Francesco, and Enrica De Cian. "Climate change, sea level rise, and costal disasters. A
review of modeling practices." Energy Economics, 1-13.
http://dx.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2013.09.002.

Botts, Howard, Wei Du, Thomas Jeffrey, Stephen Kolk, Zachary Pennycook, and Logan Suhr.
Storm Surge Report. Report no. RPT-1306-01. Irvine, CA/USA: CoreLogic, 2013.
http://www.corelogic.com/research/storm-surge/corelogic-2013-storm-surge-report.pdf.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed May 24, 2013.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6220a1.htm.

Collins, M., B. Kasal, P. Paevere, and G. Foliente. "Three-Dimensional Model of Light Frame
Wood Buildings. I: Model Description." Journal of Structural Engineering 131, no. 4
(April 2005): 676-83. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9445.

Edney, Anna. "Drowning Caused One-Third of Deaths from Hurricane Sandy." Bloomberg.
Accessed May 23, 2013. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-23/drowning-caused-
one-third-of-deaths-from-hurricane-sandy.html.

Emanuel, Kerry A. "Downscaling CMIP5 climate models shows increased tropical cyclone
activity over the 21st century." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, July
2013, 1-6. doi:10.1073/pnas.1301293110.

Frankoski, Stanley, and Randal Jolitz. Hurricane Resistant Shingle. US Patent 5822943, filed
June 6, 1996, and issued Oct. 20, 1998.

Hanna, Jason. "Their house survived Ike, but it's the only one left." CNN. Last modified
September 19, 2008. http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/09/18/ike.last.house.standing/.

Mandia, Scott A. "What's in store for New York's Future?" The Long Island Express. Accessed
May 2013. http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/mandias/38hurricane/hurricane_future.html.

Norris, Fran, Julia Perilla, Jasmin Riad, Krzysztof Kaniasty, and Evelyn Lavizzoa. "Stability and
change in stress, resources, and psychological distress following natural disaster:
Findings from hurricane Andrew." Anxiety, Stress & Coping 12, no. 4 (1999): 363-96.
doi:10.1080/10615809908249317.

Rice, Doyle. "Weather lessons from Superstorm Sandy." USA Today. Last modified October 28,
2013. http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2013/10/26/weather-hurricane-
superstorm-sandy/3178777/.

Thompson, Thomas C. Retrofit Hurricane and Earthquake Protection. US Patent 6877284, filed
Feb. 28, 2001, and issued Apr. 12, 2005.

Walsh, Brian. "Climate Change Could Make Hurricanes Strongerand More Frequent." Time.
Last modified July 9, 2013. http://science.time.com/2013/07/09/a-new-study-says-
hurricanes-will-get-stronger-and-more-frequent-thanks-to-climate-change/.