19 May 2011

Zombie fortress


A response to flooding at DeValls Bluff, Arkansas, May 2011. I like the moat inside the floodwall.  I wish them luck.

6 comments:

  1. You'll notice the bubbling in the water in the moat. I wonder if that is the pressure of the surrounding water forcing the air out of the ground or some similar effect.

    I first thought it was rain hitting water but after looking at it again it really does seem to be bubbling.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I noticed that too, and agree that it looks a bit ominous.

    ReplyDelete
  3. At what point does the effort to save a structure exceed the effort of building a new one?

    ReplyDelete
  4. There's an update video, including footage of the dam's construction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lvb6QkO31g&feature=watch_response

    ReplyDelete
  5. Actually, that's very smart of them to build the moat. One of the big problems that most people have with trying to protect themselves from rising water is the fact that water almost always finds another way to get into the dry area. By building the moat, they both can raise the land on the outside, increasing the size of the levy, and lower the ground level on the inside, which gives them a chance to pump the water back out before it saturates the protected ground area.

    And I suspect that the bubbling is caused by the pressure of the surrounding water on the air in the ground. And it's only ominous when it's on the SIDE of the levy, not in the protect area.

    ReplyDelete
  6. After seeing the amount of land they allowed around the buildings I wonder if they left enough. I bet they will have some foundation issues to content with down the road. But still, not the same as having to rebuild.

    ReplyDelete