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Hexayurts provide quick portable shelter through Disastr.org partnership | 01.08.2008 | 10:27:49 | Views: 7496 | ID: January 8 '08: The makers of the Hexayurt, a portable and quick-setup emergency shelter have been working on the Disastr.org emergency evacuation plan for cities and communities using a peer-to-peer resource allocation process which would provide sheltering for potentially hundreds of thousands of people. The value of having portable emergency shelters using scant resources was evident when the company participated in the 2006 Strong Angel III exercise, the New York Times reported. The Strong Angel III exercise was sponsored by companies such as Google, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Sprint/Nextel and others. About 800 participants in all simulated a world-wide pandemic outbreak and the challenges faced with mitigating and responding to such a disaster. You may view a slideshow from Wired Magazine here as well. The Disastr plan, developed in wikiform by Hexayurt founder Vinay Gupta, proposes matching host families to refugee families based on travel time a shelter resources needed. A graph outlines the possible actions of the partnership. If immediate sheltering is necessary, a hexayurt can be built by five people in under two hours. The shelter is insulated and uses the insulation boards used by the building industry. On the website, Mr. Gupta said he has showed FEMA and the American Red Cross the Disastr plan and that there is the potential for working with the California branch of FEMA. The main strength lies "community-led disaster response plan" aspect which puts the nexus of the project into the hands of community members.
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