Tsunami Survival Capsule
…a tsunami escape capsule that could protect up to six people for as little as $1,000….The idea is simple: a 7-foot diameter ball, probably made out of aluminum, outfitted with internal seats and safety harnesses. In general it would have to protect people only for an hour or two, until tsunami waters receded.
This isn’t a bad idea, but personally my preference would be to not live on the coast, or just make sure you are alerted by tsunami warnings and flee inland. So while I certainly wouldn’t rely on one of these, I think they would be well suited to being your plan B for if normal escape is hindered.
Over the years I’ve had a similar idea percolating, but because I am not an engineer it won’t become reality (unless this post inspires someone). I think if you made a capsule but gave it dozens of long protruding spikes in every direction, then not only could it float, but it could protect you in a mega-earthquake as well.
Here’s an example from nature:
The idea is that, say in a mega-earthquake, it could still roll around, yet the spikes are a first layer of defense. Losing a few spikes wouldn’t be much of problem. And if something heavy fell on the capsule, the spikes could work like crumple zones in a car. Obviously the interior would still need to be very robustly constructed.
