It was an architectural icon, a forebear to hurricane readiness and a cautionary story about constructing too near the shore.
The Cape Romano dome residence, accomplished in 1982 on a sand spit of Marco Island, Fla., has succumbed to the ocean.
Hurricane Ian knocked down what remained of the 40-year-old string of six concrete-reinforced geodesic domes that have been adjoining rooms within the 2,400-square-foot modular home. Its spherical partitions have been constructed to deflect 150-mph winds that will stage most conventionally designed houses.
The dome residence was forward of its time and a harbinger of storm-resilient residing till it was deserted in 2007 after the seaside it was constructed upon eroded away, leaving the domes on pilings about 100 yards offshore.
Two of the unique domes collapsed after Hurricane Irma. The ultimate 4 remained a spooky relic till final week. Then they went underwater.
Alex Demooy, proprietor of the Naples-based constitution tour firm Breakwater Adventures, was among the many first to {photograph} the spot the place the domes as soon as stood.
“Everybody’s fairly unhappy. It had been sitting on the market for a very long time,” he stated Monday in a phone interview from Naples.
Demooy wasn’t sentimental concerning the construction, which to many had grow to be an ugly, poop-stained pelican roost. However each consumer marveled at it, he stated, and nobody who noticed it forgot.
So he posted an image to Instagram. It drew greater than 750 “likes” in two days. One other Instagram consumer’s picture, captioned “R.I.P. TO THE DOMES,” drew practically 2,200 likes by Monday afternoon.
“Knew it could occur sometime. So unhappy,” one viewer of Demooy’s put up stated.
“I used to be questioning in the event that they’d make it,” one other stated.
“So heartbreaking,” wrote a 3rd.
Although it will likely be missed by some, specialists say the Romano dome residence provided a cautionary story concerning the perils of constructing too near the shoreline because the planet warms. Not solely is local weather change worsening storms like Hurricane Ian, it’s additionally lifting sea ranges and growing the chance of coastal flooding.
Southwest Florida’s shoreline has seen between 6 and eight inches of sea-level rise since 1990, in keeping with information information. A lately launched report from NOAA initiatives the area will see a further 1.5 ft of extra rise by 2050 primarily based on the present charge of greenhouse gasoline emissions.
“It is a clear signal of issues to come back, notably in low-lying areas that aren’t protected,” Jayantha Obeysekera, a analysis professor and director of the Sea Degree Options Middle at Florida Worldwide College, toldE&E Information in 2019 concerning the Romano dome residence.
“It demonstrates the ability of the ocean, and I feel it’s a really telling instance of how local weather change and sea-level rise will have an effect on us sooner or later,” Obeysekera added (Climatewire, Nov. 18, 2019).
Demooy stated he wasn’t shocked to see the dome residence go underwater after a storm like Ian.
“We have been fairly positive after we got here across the nook that it could be gone,” he stated of his Friday discovery. “It was constructed to face up to hurricanes, however it wasn’t constructed to face up to this.”
Reprinted from E&E News with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2022. E&E Information supplies important information for power and setting professionals.
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