Ark Housing and Survival Systems
About
  The idea of surviving in a hostile environment for lengthy periods of time is not new.       The seafarers of old have done it for centuries; in specifically designed craft.
   The concepts and techniques are not secrets; they are LAW to the sea going man                                  who intends to survive a harsh and arduous journey.

  With this theme in mind, a modern and astute family man can ensure the survival
of his family throughout any of the inevitable onsloughts that are coming either from        earth, or from space in the form of decimating meteor showers or asteroid hit. 

  With weather conditions presenting what seems like constant concern; surviving the    summer has become as serious an issue as surviving the winter. Between irregular        extreme rainfall, tornados, hurricanes, floods, heatwaves, droughts, earthquakes,           volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, blizzards, ice storms, cold snaps, power outages,      shortages of food and other natural disasters; it just isn't prudent to  allow ones self to                                           be caught unprepared anymore.
   With the added repercussions of changing weather from global warming and the inevitable rise of sea levels as a result of this, it just isn't wise for anyone to continue    into the maw of disaster without being ready for it. Life on our planet is facing the        nearly insurmountable  challenge of continuing existence under a  set of   almost        incomprehensible circumstances heretofor unprecedented in the history of known                                                           civilization.

The U.S. has sustained 54 weather-related disasters over a 23-year period in which overall damages and costs reached or exceeded $1 billion. Forty-five of these disasters occurred during the 1988-2002 period with total damages/costs of nearly $200 billion. Seven occurred during 1998 alone—the most for any year on record, though other                                         years have recorded higher damage totals.

   The death toll from floods, hurricanes, cyclones and tornados in the U.S. since 1900                                      is estimated at a low figure of 35,000.
    That does not take into consideration the deaths from earthquakes, volcanos              blizzards, fires, heatwaves, dam bursts, lightening strikes, storm surge, diseases
                                                      or epidemics.

      It goes without saying that there is an obvious need for the conscientious and               aware homeowner to protect his family and their  lives from known as well as         unknown forces of nature. There is an  additional concern that without air filtration systems, an unprepared family may be subject to airborn contaminants which may or               may not be dispersed deliberately , such as flue epidemics, volcanic ash,                                           accidental chemical release or terrorist act.

   The need for different survival systems is supported by the various regions of the        country, whereby some homeowners are out of earthquake zones but right in the        middle of flood plains, while others may not be in the path of a tsunami but be in a                                                       known  blizzard zone.

              Consequently the applications may vary, but in essence, the danger                                                                    is still the same;


             Being cut off from regular services
                   and needing to survive harsh                                            conditions for unknown
                            periods of time.


  Some things are entirely predictable, and the foolish repetition of ill  informed ways continues to lead citizens to death and disaster without intervention or application of                                              wise, practical survival techniques.

                             This is where " Hell or High Water Arks" steps in.

    There is absolutely NO good reason for anyone to lose ANYTHING in a flood.
  The flood plains and river zones are well known, and  continued flooding in these                                                regions is as common as sliced bread.
  The fact that FEMA continues to rebuild in the same place with the same techniques                               is as baffling as a homeowner who goes along with it.

                                    On this basis, the primary application of
                                             " Hell or High Water Arks"
               is to put every home onto a barge. The repeated flooding of some                                locations makes this an obvious move; but why do it in an unproven                                                                       flood risk zone?

               To guarantee that your home and lifestyle will survive the unknown                                                         factors which have yet to occur.

                                       Firstly, every home is subject to fire.
   Secondly, rare as it may be, such things as unprecedented hail the size of softballs,         tornados, an unprecedented lahar, extreme rainfall, earthquakes and any other                        number of possible scenarios must be prepared for in ADVANCE.

   The typical house is NOT built to any standards which would allow it to survive ANY conditions other than just sitting there peacefully on a sunny day; or maybe a little                                                               windblown rain.
                            Very few homeowners have bullet-proof windows,
                   ( wind blown hail ) tornado proof roofs, or flood proof anything.

     With the changing global weather patterns come the unknown  systems which can/will bring torrential rains to the driest of regions  with very little if any warning.
With rising oceans from melting ice caps every residential area along the coasts and rivers will become subject to unavoidable flooding with NO way to avoid or survive it.
   A volcanic eruption can block out the sun for months and fill the air  with lethal         dust and toxic gases, an earthquake can disrupt road access and food deliveries for        extended periods and any extreme rain, snow, or wind can cut off regular services                                                                 indefinitely.
          The nation has already witnessed these events along with unprecedented              heatwaves and blizzards with the resultant unnecessary deaths of people who just          weren't prepared for anything, and our reliance on outside sources for water and       electricity place us in a perpetually vulnerable state; especially when these services                                 are cut off  indefinitely by any interference from nature.
        People living on hillsides are also vulnerable as shown by the incidence of land                                           slides and rain soaked earth foundations.

           There are NO methods in use today which prevent these things from                                                             happening over and over again.
   Houses are continually being built onto pads at ground level. Or on pier blocks set onto ground, or onto foundation walls poured into the ground. The walls are all attached to the floor joists or sill plates which are attached to the concrete anchor of choice, but the building industry   is still using regular housing nails which rust. No provision is made at any time for any incidence of nature, and the flimsy structures      are all as vulnerable as match stick boxes. Any shift in the ground by earthquake,       ground water, or sinkhole, leaves these residences immediately uninhabitable and                                                                 condemmed.
                 NO provision is EVER made at any time in any way shape or form.

   Alternately, a home built onto an independent floating barge, can float on water, it can float on earth, it can float on snow melt or lahar, though it won't float on a lava flow unless it's made of a completely fire resistant material such as on the nose cone                                                        of the space shuttle.

                                              Short of volcanic eruption,
                                            " Hell or High Water Arks "
  are designed and built to move and survive the irregular forces placed  upon them. The concrete shell also provides an encapsulated  environment and storage area for vital services, resources and stores; secure and safe from the environment around it.
               Like a ship which is designed and built to be entrirely self sufficient
                                                          at sea, the
                                              " Hell or High Water Ark"
                       is designed and built for all but an ocean going passage.
  The same basic concept of structures built onto floating barges can be applied to           barns and garages to the effect that ALL livestock can be saved and ALL relative       farm equipment and vehicles can be spared the  destructive soaking by flood waters.  

                        Taken to it's extreme, the ultimate survival system by,
                                              " Hell or High Water Arks"
     would be a totally fireproof, bomb proof, hurricane and tornado proof  floating                platform which would incorporate all of lifes needs; encompassing the entire          residence, using the most modern materials, disaster preparedness techniques, and                                                               equipment.
      The consideration of the worst case scenario; the Level 5 Ark also includes being bullet proof; given  the potential of marauding  gangs of armed villains  roaming the country looking for resources during desperate survival times. That may sound a tad                                extreme, but when it's happening; it will be TOO LATE
                                                   to anything about it.

Infra red sensors, area alarms, radar, and onboard weapons would be included for this    purpose. Shielded metal plate armor would be installed on lower levels to prevent assault by rocket launcher, mortar or grenade launcher. The floating bunker would be dressed to look like a regular residence, yet be invincible to any but the most extreme                                                          armed attack.
.
THIS IS THE MOST FANTASTIC MAPPING TOOL ON THE NET from FEMA :- pity THIS is the only thing they do this well !!
Volcanos.
Meteor Impacts
Presidential disaster declarations related to flooding in the United States, shown by county: Green areas represent one declaration; yellow areas represent two declarations; orange areas represent three declarations; red areas represent four or more declarations between June 1, 1965, and June 1, 2003. Map not to scale.
Ark Housing and Survival Systems
Being cut off from regular services
      and needing to survive harsh                  conditions for unknown
               periods of time.
Being cut off from regular services
      and needing to survive harsh                  conditions for unknown
               periods of time.
.