On why there can't be stilts

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

So, like, stilts maybe?

by JimK on 10/05 at 07:27 PM

In the wake of stories like this where entire hospital facilities are destroyed and must be rebuilt…

…and considering the fact that the existing floodwalls are not going to withstand even a Cat3 storm next year…

…and considering the fact that the city is still sinking…

…Why doesn’t anyone in Louisiana build anything, you know…off the ground? How’s about building the vital services on big, hurricane-proof concrete pilings? That way in a flood, all that would be destroyed is the way in and out of the first floor. Is there some structural or engineering reason that I don’t get? I know if I had to rebuild my house down there I’d be building it like a Vietnamese house in a rice paddy…up. High. With steps that could easily be replaced should nature try to break my balls again. But there people are just going to try to stop water from doing what water does…regardless of the lessons the water tried to teach them this time.

Someone tell me why this isn’t feasible. Obviously it’s not a viable option or someone would be doing it, right?

JimK, I think it's the fact that building those pillars costs a lot. This is something that the city of New Orleans can not, or will not, pay for. Not only that, considering those pillars have to be reinforeced with steel into the ground. Now, the ground is so soft, that dead bodies can not be buried. This area is pure swampland. There is no way the ground can keep these buildings up if they have pillars. The people of the city refuse to let this peticular city die; so they rebuild. Another storm will come. Another storm will destroy. They will always stay. Do not ask me why; it's just how some people are.



Goggalor
The Young Conservatives