"Concrete is a low cost material readily available worldwide, doesn't require skilled labor, and has a long life cycle. Additionally, it is strong and provides the necessary mass and inertia for the shelters to safely handle the initial event forces," explains Serrano. "The modular concept and post-tensioning technique allows for off-site mass manufacturing, ease of transportability, and rapid final assembly once the modules arrive to the final installation sites".

STATIM Shelter breakaway view

The system is already receiving rave reviews from governments and other prospective users, such as coastal resorts and industrial facilities operators.

Bill O' Leary, an Australian marine industry expert and entrepreneur who has lived for the past 28 years in Phuket, Thailand, regards the STATIM Shelter System as "...an amazing, winning idea, with the potential to become a substantial contribution to many vulnerable communities around the world…" O' Leary is author of the book Tsunami Stories, a compilation of 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami survival stories, event of which O' Leary is an actual survivor himself.

There are thousands of islands and coastal communities around the world where topography, proximity to seismic faults, remoteness, or lack of vertical evacuation alternatives make them extremely vulnerable to the devastation of such events.

The STATIM Shelter brings a feasible solution for the safety and peace of mind of those communities, and the millions of constituents who reside in them.

"Our focus now is on advancing the prototype development and testing phase in order to expedite global implementation" stated Serrano. "The STATIM Shelter is a straight forward approach which clearly represents a major breakthrough on how humanity will address these threats from now on."

The inventor, Miguel A. Serrano, 41, is a land development and construction management consultant in San Juan, Puerto Rico.