Media coverage of the Dome of a Home continues. On Tuesday, October 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, experience firsthand the fury of these violent storms as National Geographic Channel's "Hurricane Summer" takes viewers from the eye of these monsters to the personal stories on the ground. The Sigler's will tell of their experience and how the "Dome Home" handled her first major test.



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He designed the house after his old one was destroyed by Hurricane Opal in 1995. He wanted his new one to be "indestructible," so his research led him to the architecturally strong dome shape.
But even his house's 17-feet-deep pilings need something to sink into. When the Gulf waters wash onto the island where Pensacola Beach is located, they could liquefy the sand and set his house loose or sinking.



Ivan's waves and storm surge got into the ground floor of his Dome of a Home. But after Ivan wiped out 250 feet of beachfront and protective sand dunes, he thinks the waves pushed by Dennis could reach the second floor.

I wrote this as Hurricane Ivan was rapidly approaching Pensacola Beach, FL. Mark and I stayed in contact for as long as possible. The MSNBC crew 'riding out the storm' also had a satellite phone to theoretically keep their news affiliates updated. Ironically, their equipment continued to function, but the less fortunate crew in Gulf Breeze, FL lost connection. (Black italic print are my additions after the storm passed.)



Because of the power disruption in Florida, my webmaster could not post news updates. Since I was in Montana and fully powered, the format I could use most easily was the Forum. What follows below is what was posted on the Forum:

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

When Ivan was just a tropical storm out in the Atlantic, Mark had a strong feeling he would be visiting our shores. I wanted to dismiss his premonitions, but he was accurate when he felt the same about Hurricane Opal in 1995. I just hoped against hope that he would be wrong this time. Guess not.

In the past few weeks, the media coverage for dome homes has exploded! Our website has exceeded 6.1 million hits, with several hundred visitors each day. During Hurricane Frances, Good Morning America interviewed Mr. Paul in his dome "Eye of the Storm" and Safe Harbor Dome in south Florida was interviewed by Canadian radio.

In the last few days, Dome of a Home has made an appearance on the Travel Channel; Discovery Channel Canada; Good Morning America; NBC's Nightly News; NBC's Today Show; Pensacola News Journal; and the Marin Independent Journal. We have heard through the grapevine that the home has been mentioned on various radio stations and other newspapers, but I have not confirmed those yet.



Since receiving the coverage listed above, the Dome of a Home has also been mentioned on Scarborough Country; Countdown with Keith Olbermann (twice); filmed for a National Geographic feature next month; and more newspapers than I can keep up with.


I need help collecting all of the coverage of the Dome of a Home. I, quite literally, am overwhelmed and could use your eyes and ears to alert me to the coverage so we may include it on our site. Thanks in advance for your help. Email it to me at domeofahome@aol.com

The NBC news crew decided to weather out the storm at the Dome of a Home. They have placed cameras outside to document the arrival of Hurricane Ivan, the Terrible.
Mark and I will be documenting his experience with written reports as NBC makes a visual history of the Dome of a Home's survival capabilities.
Stay tuned via the forum because I cannot post the progress reports via the webmaster until the storm is over and power is restored.

7:00 pm

Spoke to Mark by phone, the power is still on, the wind is definitely picking up, and water is crossing the street and already flooding our yard. The dome is still silent, the wind is not howling yet. No shaking of the structure or anything noticeable within the dome.
Stay tuned.

11:00 pm

Mark and the MSNBC reporter just completed a fairly extensive report from the Dome. Winds are gusting at 65 mph, and steadily increasing. The water is across the street and the island is flooded. No structural damage has occurred. The home is sturdy, not shaking or causing any alarm. All of the people staying in the dome feel very confident of their safety and the structural integrity of the dome.

We were thrilled that Mark was able to discuss the need for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and conventional financing to be available for these homes. Like the reporter stated, the same insanity keeps happening over and over again: home destroyed; file insurance claim; receive money; build same type home; home destroyed; file insurance claim over and over and over again.

Mark wanted to express that conventional financing should be available for structures that make sense, even if they defy the conventional models. We are grateful that MSNBC is willing to stay in the dome for this experiment. So far, so good.

Although we are extremely distressed about suffering yet another hurricane, the silver lining is the opportunity to educate the masses about structures that are viable in this environment.
Stay tuned on MSNBC tonight. Tomorrow morning on NBC's TODAY Show from 7 - 10 am, there should be more coverage.



Scarborough Country

Ron Reagan was reporting from Pensacola and stated that he had heard Mark had built two previous storm proof homes that failed.

WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!

I love it when they report on hearsay instead of facts. He should call Mark before making such statements. Hey, Ron, the number is 850-723-3774.

We suffered severe damage from 2 previous hurricanes in our original home that was bulldozed to build the dome. I guess the proof is in the pudding, so to speak. We will know much more in the morning.


Thursday, September 16, 2004

12:15am

Just saw Kerry Sanders from MSNBC broadcasting from the dome. Gusts of 65 mph, lots of rain. But, the house is definitely still standing and doing fine.

2:30 AM

The eye of Hurricane Ivan is now making landfall. Pensacola Beach is in absolutely the worst position (upper right hand quadrant – east) as the storm arrives. Most of the MSNBC crew is asleep. Mark is awake listening as the wind intensifies and the water is crashing across the island. The storm surge and rain caused five feet of water underneath the dome. Mark says he can hear debris crashing into the dome, but does not feel any movement of the dome from the surging Gulf. He said water is flowing over the entire island. Although he has no visual confirmation, he said it sounds like there are tornadoes howling around the island. He said it is unnerving to realize that there is no land around until you reach Gulf Breeze.


Mark went to sleep after this discussion, said he slept very soundly. Amazing, I have heard people jokingly refer to others as "sleeping through a tornado", now I know it is possible with Mark and the MSNBC crew.


7:30 AM

Daylight has brought devastating visuals of a storm whose damage far exceeds that of Hurricane Opal in 1995.

The Dome of a Home has maintained its structural integrity! Everyone is safe and the home will be livable again with some necessary repairs. We did have wind driven rain leak through the windows. The good news is that the dome is still standing, albeit with some exterior damage from the staircases that were ripped away by the waves. The geo-thermal system is damaged, the fences gone, and the garage concrete floor has disappeared.



Mark has been traipsing across the island and says that the devastation is extensive. All lower floors are gone with the blow-out walls doing exactly as designed, being blown away, literally. It seems evident the entire beach was covered with at least 5 feet of water. All of the garages and their concrete floors have disappeared. The Catholic Church's roof has sustained much damage and the school looks like it has been hit hard. Homes that were older and still on the ground floor have basically vanished. The surge has subsided on the Gulf side, but the Sound side of the island is still under waist deep water.


Mark and I are currently composing his account of Hurricane Ivan from preparation, to meeting the MSNBC crew, the decision to stay, frantic phone calls advising them to run, the event, and the aftermath. Stay tuned! We are contending with sporadic power and limited internet services. But, rest assured we will get this story out.

Due to the recent destruction from Hurricane Ivan, we will be unable to participate in the 2004 Annual Dome Tour. Only residents, contractors, and insurance adjusters are allowed on the island for the next couple of months. Our regrets to have to cancel, but it is definitely out of our hands. Next year, we will have a wealth of information to share at the tour.

Tour for Charity - Saturday, October 16, 2004 from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm

This year's theme for the annual Monolithic Dome Tour is "Charity begins at 'dome'". We built the Dome of a Home as a direct result of hurricane strikes, so in great empathy we are requesting a gift offering for the victims of Hurricane Charley.

With the recent destruction caused by Hurricane Charley, the monolithic dome may garner even more interest as storm resistant buildings. As we are personally aware, you have two choices when your life has been thrown into chaos by a natural disaster. You can let it become the defining moment of your downfall into depression or you can salvage positive learning experiences from the wreckage. The Dome of a Home was our attempt to incorporate many of the ideas and lessons that became apparent as our community rebuilt from Hurricanes Erin and Opal in 1995.

We encourage you to participate in the guided tours at the Dome of a Home on Saturday, October 16, 2004 from 11 am to 5 pm. We will be highlighting many of the features we included in the home as a direct result of our hurricane experiences. The home is a year old now and we will also be discussing which innovative ideas worked seamlessly and which ones are better left as theories.

Please join us for a tour and help the hurricane victims whose lives have been devastated.

Other homes are participating in the annual tour on October 9, 2004. For information about these homes, please visit www.monolithicdome.com

Recently the Discovery Channel Canada interview Mark Sigler, Dome of a Home owner. You can view a video of the interview on the Discovery channel website.

Visit the Discovery Channel Canada website


One night this May 2006, Mark and I were sitting on the couch watching Discovery Channel's
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HURRICANES. All of a sudden, Mark is on the screen being interviewed. I guess they bought the footage from someone because we had no clue that the Dome of a Home was included in the segment. Wonderful surprise!

Hurricane Ivan was truly Ivan, the Terrible. Never have I seen such devastation on such a broad, massive scale. It is terrifying to see Mother Nature's power rage with such an amazing fury.



However, today, Mark and I must count our blessings. I actually got to visit the Dome of a Home for the first time after the storm. We went there with the National Geographic film crew for a story they are airing in October. My first sight of the dome took my breath away as I viewed her scarred face. She had been so beautiful with her elegant staircases and flowing fountain. Yet, her wounds are superficial, not structural.

The dome survived structurally exactly as she was designed to do. We have no structural damage, just cosmetic. The staircases broke away, as code demands they be designed to do. The concrete floor of the garage broke up and washed away, as designed. The pool is completely buried, no idea where it is, nor the fence that surrounded the yard. Of course, the landscaping has been decimated.

The dome- she performed beautifully, exactly as she was engineered to do. As she protected Mark and the MSNBC news crew through Hurricane Ivan, she became the sanctuary for some stranded on the island. Ironically, many of the news crew teams that were inland had a much rougher night than those sleeping through the storm in Serenity by the Sea.

We have so much to tell, so many pictures to share, so many stories to express, so much gratitude to give. We are overwhelmed with the media attention, the encouraging emails, and the inquisitive minds. We are grateful.

As you can imagine, my power has been sporadic and high speed internet is not available yet. Please be patient and we will be continually updating the information about Hurricane Ivan. Mark is dictating his experience to me, pictures and links are arriving by email daily, and I am trying desperately to pass the information along to my amazing webmaster, Greg Williams, at www.veropa.com

We are revamping the website, so stay tuned for Mark's story, pictures, and media links. The media has been very responsive: MSNBC, Discovery, National Geographic, NBC, Good Morning America, Today Show, Nightly News, Scarborough Country, Inside Edition, ABC affiliates, Travel Channel, and numerous newspapers and radio stations. We are so glad the message is getting to the masses about these storm resistant homes.

Stay tuned, lots to share as soon as the technology gets me back up and running.

- Valerie Sigler

Posted on: 03/01/2005
I write this on October 11, 2006 very grateful that it has been a much quieter storm season than predicted. I cannot believe the difference in the stress level because I haven't been on a daily storm watch.