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Two Monolithic Domes endured and survived Hurricane Keith’s rampage virtually unscathed! They are the Monolithic Domes at the Xanadu Island Resort owned and managed by Ivan and Judy Sheinbaum on Ambergris Caye.

Forecasts predicted Hurricane Michael would land in Panama City as a strong, but still manageable, Category 3 hurricane. Employees of the Humane Society of Bay County — along with their families, friends, cats, and dogs — spent the day preparing to ride out the hurricane under the protection of their Monolithic Dome. As everyone settled in for the night, no one expected anything too severe. Then Hurricane Michael intensified into the strongest hurricane to ever hit the Florida panhandle.

Hurricane Michael smashed a power transformer into Margaret Clayton’s caterpillar shaped Monolithic Dome home. The home is a few miles southeast of Mexico Beach in Port Saint Joe, Florida. Clayton stayed in her home during the hurricane. Everything was going well — until her neighbor’s house exploded.

In 2004, Monolithic designed a dome for DuPont. They wanted a structure that could survive a category 5 (155+ mph winds and 18+ foot surge) hurricane, for their plant in DeLisle, Mississippi. It got tested by Hurricane Katrina.

Polk County, Florida is all too familiar with the devastation of hurricanes. Three major hurricanes hit the state in the span of two months in 2004, flooding the county with high winds and torrential rains. Five years later, some are wondering whether local residents have developed disaster amnesia. In a series of articles on the lessons learned from the hurricanes, the News Chief quotes experts who warn about the importance of preparedness. Among those quoted is the Monolithic Dome Institute’s own David South.

I was not a bit afraid during Hurricane Michael. A South Florida newspaper said there were sustained winds of 185+ mph and gusts of 201 mph. I believe that as I watched the neighbor house explode and saw trees twist and fly apart. Debris pounded the dome viciously. My hurricane windows were fractured but held so no rain entered.

A recently completed Monolithic Dome home shielded a family from a hurricane and came away unscathed. That’s the strength of a Monolithic Dome.

Any sturdy building had to be declared a hurricane shelter in the Woodsboro, Texas area up until four years ago. At that time, two hurricane-proof Monolithic Dome gymnasiums, which could act as hurricane shelters for the community, were built in Woodsboro and Edna, reports J. R. Ortega in the story, Hurricane-proof domes could provide salvation for those in path of storm, in the Victoria Advocate.

Deaths, injuries and property damage caused by tornadoes and hurricanes can be prevented. That’s the primary and most important conclusion FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) reaches in its manual, Design and Construction Guidance for Community Shelters. But this manual doesn’t stop there. It not only says that structures strong enough to survive tornadoes and hurricanes can be built, it actually tells people how to do that.

While most Americans are focused on the devastating tornadoes that have been ransacking the nation, those who live in coastal areas have another type of natural disaster on their minds. Hurricane season began on June 1, and meteorologists are predicting that it could be a much more active than last year.

We haven’t reached any dome owners in the area hit by Hurricane Michael. The city manager of Panama City Beach, Florida, was on NPR this morning talking about the damage. He said his city fared okay, but the area around Mexico Beach — east of Panama City Beach — was devastated. Widespread power failures, destroyed cell towers, and damaged infrastructure is making communication difficult.

For many, the mass evacuation for hurricane Rita was a bigger disaster than the storm. Millions left their homes and inched their way north in a Texas sized traffic jam. Many ran out of fuel while parked on the freeway. Others stayed behind only to face the peril of the storm itself. As Eric Besson of the Beaumont Enterprise reports, “Rita showed that, in the worst cases, no matter the decision, few avoid suffering.”

After the large storm hit, many residents took shelter in Monolithic Domes, FEMA approved shelters.

A round house survives a hurricane? It did and we think it’s pretty cool. An article appeared on news-press.com’s website in July, highlighting the fact that something as simple as changing the shape of your home can increase its strength dramatically.

A reporter once asked George Paul, why did he build The Eye of the Storm round? George said he wanted it streamlined like a car. The reporter then said, “But this is a house, not a car.” George gave a simple response, “Yes. But every few years, all homes along the coast have an opportunity to go 100 miles per hour.”

The Children’s Reading Center, Inc. a local Florida non-profit organization which operates a charter school in Palatka, has begun construction of an innovative domed school facility. On Tuesday, February 20th at 8 a.m., crews are tentatively scheduled to inflate a giant balloon that will create the shape of the first of five domed buildings.

Since the fiercest hurricane on record to hit the U.S. blasted the Texas coast in 1900, Equalizer’s location certainly is in a hurricane zone. That hurricane-proneness was one of the main reasons Equalizer decided on Monolithic Domes for the storage of their two products: ammonium nitrate and diammonium phosphate.

The company that restored the Superdome after the extensive damage caused by Hurricane Katrina is returning to New Orleans with a dome of its own — a hurricane-proof dome home that may offer one of the best solutions for the city’s rebuilding efforts.

It’s perhaps the best known of all the Monolithic Dome homes in the world, and it continues to make headlines every time a hurricane threatens the U.S. mainland. Eye of the Storm on Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina, was the focus of another news feature after Hurricane Irene hit the East Coast.

Like most of the Caribbean islands, St. Lucia is vulnerable to hurricanes. On the average, a severe storm brushes the area about every four years. The last one was Hurricane Dean, which blew by with 100 mile per hour winds in 2007 and tore many roofs away, even in the elegant community of Vigie, Castries where residences are supposed to be built well. The area’s vulnerability to hurricanes is one of the reasons that real estate developer John Craciun is looking to build Monolithic Domes in St. Lucia and the wider Caribbean.

Louisiana residents know all too well what a hurricane can do to traditional stick and brick homes.

Spacious and spectacular Monolithic Dome churches provide near absolute protection from fire, tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes.

School officials in Woodsboro, Texas say they’ll be ready to break ground on their new Monolithic Dome multipurpose facility in about a month – weather permitting. But once the hurricane-resistance building is in place, weather should be much less of a concern in the small Gulf Coast town. That’s because their school building will meet the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s standards for near-absolute protection from hurricanes.

One hurricane was all it took for one couple to seek out a storm-resistant structure, which led them to Monolithic Domes.

The Florida dome home that made national headlines when it emerged virtually unscathed from a direct hit by Hurricane Ivan is on the auction block. The 3,400-square-foot Monolithic Dome home is up for sale for $1.25 million dollars, fully furnished.

Monolithic Dome homes, steel-reinforced, all-concrete buildings that meet Federal Emergency Management Agency’s standards for near-absolute protection from hurricanes and cost up to 50 percent less to heat and cool than traditional buildings, will be making their debut at the 2006 International Builders Show in Orlando in January.

Monolithic Domes are proven survivors of tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, fires and bullets. They meet or exceed all regional building codes and requirements. They also meet or exceed FEMA’s specifications for a structure to provide near-absolute protection against tornadoes and hurricanes.

Because of their disaster-resistant qualities, Monolithic Domes are ideal for storing critical data and other essential records that must be protected in case of a tornado or hurricane. That’s why American Business Continuity Domes (ABC Domes) has dedicated its business to building disaster-resistant Monolithic Dome data storage facilities.

“The higher you go, the more susceptible a building is to hurricane or tornado damage,” said David South, president of Monolithic, at a discussion of the latest in warehouses, distribution centers and storage facilities. “That’s why the Monolithic Dome makes an ideal automated warehouse,” he added.

On September 1, Category 2 Hurricane Gustav blasted our southern coast, killing 138 people and causing an estimated $15 billion in damages. Just twelve days later, Category 2 Hurricane Ike, the third costliest U.S. hurricane and the most expensive in Texas history, killed 96 people and destroyed property to the tune of $27 billion. Monolithic Domes not only survive but protect….

On December 3, the Science Museum in London will open a new exhibition that explores climate science. The exhibition is an immersive experience with a variety of objects, audiovisuals and interactives for the visitors to explore. One of the visuals - a touch screen information zone examining climate change — features hurricane resistant buildings. Among them is a Monolithic Dome home.

What’s one of the first things people need right after a hurricane? According to Peter Fedele, the answer is cash. That’s why he is building a Monolithic Dome outside of Houston to store ATMs, mobile banks, satellite communication equipment, and back up generators for financial institutions.

The Cagle family had planned to build a traditional home along the Carolina coast before Hurricanes Bonnie and Fran slammed onshore. It wasn’t so much the severity of the storms that made the Cagles change their minds. It was actually the stringent new building codes that caused them to reconsider their construction choices.

For several years now, Frank Smith has been unsuccessfully struggling with politicians, city councils and business people, trying to get their approval to build drastically needed Monolithic Dome rentals in their communities. Those Texas communities include Corpus Christi, Ingleside and Aransas Pass. All are in a hurricane-prone area – the same hurricane-prone area that made Woodsboro ISD eligible for a FEMA grant.

The city of Woodsboro is receiving a $1.5 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to fund construction of a Monolithic Dome school gymnasium/community center that will double as a county disaster shelter. Woodsboro is located near the Texas Gulf Coast and has sustained damage from Hurricane Ike and other severe storms.

A third school district has received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to build a Monolithic Dome school. The Dodge City Daily Globe is reporting that FEMA will provide a $345,000 grant to USD 225 in Fowler, Kansas to cover a portion of the construction costs of a new school facility, which meets standards for near-absolute protection from tornadoes and hurricanes.

Monolithic Constructors, a Texas-based builder of insulated, steel-reinforced concrete storage facilities, has introduced an oil storage tank that is fire-proof, hurricane-resistant and more affordable than traditional steel structures currently used for storing crude oil and refined products.

Although no major hurricanes have hit the U.S. coast so far this year, states like Florida will be vulnerable to severe storms for the next several months. But there’s at least one Florida family that isn’t worried about what the next few months will bring, or for that matter, the next several decades.

Global warming and the severe weather associated with it have heightened interest in energy conservation as well as tornado and hurricane preparedness. It also has generated increased interest in a futuristic type of building that may offer one of the best solutions to both these concerns: the Monolithic Dome.

After reviewing the FEMA requirements for a structure capable of providing a safe shelter for people in areas where hurricanes and tornados represent a real danger, the Monolithic Dome, because of its very nature, heads the list for economy and strength to resist extreme loads.

There’s a nice interview with David South by Off The Grid Radio. It’s a podcast where they discuss how the Monolithic Dome resists hurricanes and other disasters.

Since earthquakes struck Haiti and Chile earlier this year, interest in EcoShells has been at an an all-time high. Relief agencies from all over the world have been calling Monolithic to find out more about this unique type of building that has been proven to withstand earthquakes and hurricanes and yet can be built entirely by hand using local labor.

With hurricane season just around the corner, there’s a renewed focus on the Monolithic Dome’s ability to meet the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s standards for near-absolute protection. Or as one blogger recently put it, people are interested in dome homes partly because they are the “most comfortable storm shelter you could ever live in.” But the article posted on the site, ForcedGreen.com, went on to recount the many other advantages offered by these so-called ”super structures,” and there are many.

Channel 12 News Now of Beaumont, Texas featured the new FEMA funded monolithic dome being built for the Lumberton ISD by Dome Technology in a recent news report. The news article describes the monolithic dome as a disaster dome that will allow first responders and people who are unable to evacuate during emergencies to safely ride out storms like hurricanes.

The city of Woodsboro is receiving a $1.5 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to fund construction of a “Monolithic Dome school gymnasium/community center”: /topics/sports that will double as a county disaster shelter. Woodsboro is located near the Texas Gulf Coast and has sustained damage from Hurricane Ike and other severe storms.

Monolithic Domes have been proven to withstand earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, and even gun shots. But what about an explosion? Thanks to a test by South Industries, we know the answer.

Whether it’s your home, your children’s school or some other structure that you and your loved ones spend time in, nothing beats knowing that you’re in a place that cannot be destroyed by most natural or manmade disasters. That’s the confidence Monolithic Domes offer. They meet or exceed FEMA’s standards for providing near-absolute protection. Monolithic Domes are proven survivors of tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and fires.

Permies.com is a website that hosts discussion forums on permaculture, green building and sustainable practices, among other topics. Recently, a forum participant asked a simple question: Why do people in tornado/hurricane zones still build the same destroyable houses?

The Simmons’ new dome home in Jay, Florida is making news again. This time it is the subject of a feature story in the Pensacola News Journal. Charlie Simmons, an engineer, told the newspaper that he wanted to build a dome home because of its many advantages including its resistance to hurricanes and fire. “Engineers like that,” Charlie told the newspaper. “Function over form.”

School districts in tornado- and hurricane-prone areas of the United States have discovered the benefits of building Monolithic Domes to combat the fury of Mother Nature. Not only are the dome school structures energy efficient, they also can double as community disaster shelters.