Reaction system promises versatile, cost effective emergency housing

A single cargo ship can deliver as many as 300,000 “Exo” base housing units capable of providing shelter to over a million refugees.

In a world where millions of people are forced from their houses every year because of natural disasters, there is an ongoing need for huge numbers of decent mid- to long-term temporary housing units that can be swiftly delivered to the affected area. The Reaction Housing System has been developed to make the wait as short as possible.

Six months after Hurricane Katrina, just over 15 percent of the 92,000 temporary housing units required (the infamous Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) trailers) had been supplied to displaced Louisiana citizens. Even the largest economy in the world required more than a year to complete the task of providing temporary housing following this disaster.

The situation is worse in less-developed countries. Two years after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, there are still more than half a million people living in camps under makeshift tents and tarpaulins.

The need for emergency housing is relatively constant from year to year, so much of the demand could be addressed by reusable units that can be compactly stored in warehouses strategically disposed around a country, a continent, or the entire world.