would hypothetical emergency tsunami flood buildings be feasible at coastal towns?

Question

i've read that evacuating people to higher ground instead of the area will cut the casualties from thousands to hundreds. it made me think of an idea for emergency high rise tsunami buildings at populated coastal towns and resorts. they could build a high capacity version of the world's fastest elevator (same one they use at the stratosphere hotel in vegas, which goes up over hundred floors in seconds). what are your opinions on this idea good or not good? =)

the article that pointed out it would be better to evacuate people to higher ground would indicate high standing buildings most likely could withstand a tsunami. as for financially, yes it would be alot but it's for a good cost, the expense of saving more lives.

here is a link to the article for evacuating to higher ground instead of all out evacuation:
http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_091207_news_seaside_tsunami.ca10bafc.html

Answer 1

Dear friend staying at high floor is advisable for Tsunami but dangerous for earthquakes. Unless we decide that the earthquake wave has generated Tsunami we can not advice the people to move to high ground. Just close observation of the situation will help to decide the possibility of Tsunami attack. Very simple way and scientific fact for Tsunami is if you sense earthquake waves and if you get the news of damage of buildings in the land the chances of creating the Tsunami is less. Because the force of earthquake is released in the land. I have issued the warning of Tsunami attack 2 hours before it struck our Indian coast on 26th Dec 2004. The same way I issued the denial of Tsunami attack on 28th March 2005.Even yesterday at about 6.00 P.m I.S.T I issued the denial report by E mail to important persons of our country. Because I learned from Padang that several buildings were damaged and the force was released in the land.

Answer 2

Yes it could be done, and not that expensively. Monolithic domes, suitably anchored to bedrock, can withstand a large tsunami. Ordinary monolithic domes can withstand hurricanes of any category without any problem, they can withstand earthquakes, f5 tornadoes, and forest fires. Their only problem is that they are usually somewhat unattractive. Here's a blurb from their site dealing with tsunami:


In September 2004, Hurricane Ivan hit Dome of a Home in Pensacola Beach, Florida and caused enormous beach erosion. Water surge wiped out all of the protective dunes between the dome and the shoreline. Had Dome of a Home not been set on pilings, the onslaught of water would have moved it. In a large area, the water actually excavated the ground out from under the dome. But because Dome of a Home was set on a series of pilings that were driven 17 feet into the earth, it held its position.

Moving water can be really nasty. Besides ground erosion, moving water that gets inside a structure can destroy interior walls, particularly if they are hollow. Water can knock the walls down or fill them with foul debris. Fortunately, Monolithic Dome walls are not hollow.

I recently had a representative from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an agency of the US Department of Commerce that conducts environmental research, contact me. The NOAA wanted to know if a Monolithic Dome could be built that would survive a 100 foot tsunami. My answer was an absolute Yes with this provision: a rock that I could anchor the dome to. The rock would have to prevent the uplift created by the water flowing over the dome to pop the dome to the water's surface. Water over the top of a Monolithic Dome turns that dome into an upside-down boat that will struggle to pop to the surface. So, for this situation, the dome must be anchored. But if the water gets indside the dome, the pressure is equalized, and the water's lifting capacity is lost.

Obviously, Monolithic Domes can be designed and built to withstand the wind surge of a tornado or hurricane, as well as the water surge of a hurricane or tsunami. But when gross amounts of water are involved, protection from that water must be carefully considered and implemented.

Note this comes from their website which is obviously likely to support their claims, but everything I've read about these structures leads me to accept their claims.

Answer 3

That would be financially unfeasible. To house many people, it has to be large. To withstand the tremendous pressure of the huge wave, it has to be built VERY strong. Knowing it's all sand near the coastal area, it has to be dug very deeply to have a stable structure. The engineering and the cost to build such building would make it such effort unfeasible in large scale.