Harry Coumnas Is Building Houses That Can Withstand Volcanic Eruptions

Harry Coumnas is a resident of Hawaii Island who had been in news lately for building houses which can withstand volcanic eruptions. As the Island of Hawaii consists of 5 volcanoes, the local people spend their entire lifetime fearing calamities, such as volcanic smog, lava flows, earthquakes, and explosive eruptions. Despite the scientists’ active efforts to protect the lives of people and their property by issuing timely warnings of the dangerous activities; Coumnas always thought that something more was needed to reduce the risk of volcano hazards.

In 2017, Harry Coumnas lost his family in a deadly volcanic eruption, which made him more determined than ever to find a solution to the hazards people residing near volcanoes often face. As most of the houses were damaged during the volcanic eruption leaving people with no roof over their head; Coumnas decided that he would build houses for them using materials which could withstand the lava, ashes, & cinders of volcanoes. The task was challenging, but he was determined to protect the locals from volcanic activities at any cost.

Harry Coumnas began researching about materials which can withstand high temperature and pressure in 2018. Within a year, he was able to collect around 100 materials that could be used in building houses for the people of Hawaii Island. Before starting with the building process, he performed an experiment by building a tiny doll house for his niece using these materials. After building the doll house, he kept it under extremely high temperature and pressure. As the house did not damage under the extreme conditions, he decided to go ahead with his plans and build a few houses before COVID-19 hit the world in early 2020. Since the pandemic is finally slowing down, he is planning to start building more such houses very soon.