Problem:
When the next Katrina-scale disaster hits, even safe trailers will take too long, while mass exodus to unaffected locations will still gut a metropolis. While the challenges of the first 72 hours might be better met next time, no one will stay in Red Cross triage centers for weeks or months while recovery begins. It seems we still don’t have anything fast, comfortable, cost-effective, and widely distributable without utility support.

Solution:
A self-sufficient Village in a Container.  Each 40’ container fully supports a “block” of 20 families indefinitely with all necessary utilities except food. One train and 100 trucks can deploy shelter for the first 20,000 people in the first 72 hours, and depart carrying only those who want to leave. Each micro-community of 20 families can begin rebuilding their homes and neighborhood as soon as they are ready.

Benefits:

• Deploys 20x faster than trailers, needs little or no utility logistics.
• Promotes sheltering in place; prevents US citizens from becoming IDPs.
• Supports independent and self-sufficient recovery.
• Provides both emergency shelter and transitional housing.
• Easily moved from triage camps to user’s pre-disaster homesite.
• Preserves neighborhoods, communities, and local commerce.
• Enables survival of remote rural communities post disaster.

Quickly converts from open floor to eating area to sleeping area.