The season’s changing where I live and the rains are starting to fall harder and more frequently now. I enjoy having cool weather for a change, but I always worry when a light rainshower feels like it’s progressing to something much worse and stronger.
Floods are uncommon where I’m from, so I always say an extra prayer when the rain just begins to pour down hard. My city doesn’t flood, but other parts of the country do. It’s heartbreaking to see families displaced from their homes or watch images of houses and cars and even refrigerators being swept away by murky rainwater.
I think it’s bad enough to lose all your belongings and even your home, and even worse if you have to stay in a shelter or some other temporary relief center that’s overcrowded and devoid of privacy. But I think the Almost Home Shelter changes all that and provides a better, alternative shelter in the event of a disaster.
It was designed by Katrina Epperson a result of a collaborative student observation of survivors from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Almost Home is based on the concept of coming up with a better housing solution for displaced families and individuals.
The modular shelter is a simple enough structure that’s quick to assemble and is easy to customize to accommodate various living situations. In fact, with the right arrangement and positioning, the homes can be made to feel like a community environment that will encourage people to live and interact with one another as if they were in a rural village.
[via Yanko Design]
