[nct2]

I'm a DIYer, but that's not why I'm here. Also, I'm not sure if this question should be in this section or the Construction section.

I am writing a fictional story in which an earthquake has dropped the land several feet and the ocean has rushed in. The hero needs to demolish a concrete/cinderblock building that is partially submerged (the depth depends on the tide).

How would he go about doing that?

 

[Windows on Wash]

Pneumatic type hammer that is for underwater demolition (i.e. sealed chamber).

 

[Windows on Wash]

 

[Oso954]

Excavator on a barge with a hydraulic breaking hammer.
The barge could be anchored, held in place by spuds, or a Jack up, depending on water conditions.

The more you describe your vision of this scene/location, the better the answer you will get.

 

[Nealtw]

The hero needs

Is it a rescue mission, what tools does he have, is there a time line that it needs to be done?

 

[stadry]

like barge idea best,,, figuring your hero only has himself,,, suggest air OR hydraulic,,, did 1 of these yrs ago in puerto rico,,, hyd was a pita due to hoses but very efficient compared to the air gun,,, compressed air has a way of expanding when exiting gun & the operator can't see ****,,, also did some work on the gw in 30' of water,,, there we used remote controlled brokk,,, diver was there only to observe while operator remained on workboat

 

[nct2]

Thanks for the responses.

The story involves a large coastal city. An earthquake dropped the land several feet (whatever depth will make the story work), and the ocean rushed in and covered the city. It is now impossible to get large ships to the new shoreline because of all the buildings. The hero found a channel that will allow large ships to pass, but both ends of the channel are blocked.

On the inland side, a partially submerged building (possibly a warehouse or factory) lies between the water and the road. (This was the building in the original question.) The hero needs to clear it out of the way so cargoes can be unloaded.

On the offshore side, the channel is blocked by a gigantic mass of rubble (concrete/steel/bricks/etc.). This needs to be cleared so the ships can pass.

Any comments or suggestions?

 

[SPS-1]

The hero should go to his computer and Google "dredge shipping channel". There are lots of outfits that this is what they do.

 

[Nealtw]

It's an unrealistic premise, Ships would not go there. Your channel would be the width of a street. They have ship below the water line and I doubt you would find a block walled building that tall. Then you need a loading dock

 

[nct2]

Good to know. I haven't been able to find anyone who knows much about ships.

I'll have to think up another premise.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Oso954]

The greatest amount of earthquake subsidence I’ve heard of was about 17.5 feet in one spot. Most of the subsidence was less (from the same quake).

That’s not enough to “cover a city”. In fact, it wouldn’t fill the streets of most coastal cities on the west coast because they tend to slope up away from the water.

17.5 ft is not enough water to float a cargo ship.

 

[lenaitch]

Just a small one . . .

 

[nct2]

The advantage of fiction (especially speculative fiction) is that I can adjust things (like geography) as necessary to make the story premise work. But I don't know what changes to make.

If you'd like to help with that, head over to the Off Topic section and look for "underwater concrete".

Hoping to see some of you there.

 

[miamicuse]

Is the hero Aquaman? If it's Aquaman he calls his friend superman and just lift the building up with his bare hands from the foundation and toss it aside while Aquaman raises his trident.

 

[ShaneFromAZ]

Probably the easiest thing to do would be to setup some sort of dredger suction rig to just suck all the dirt/ sand from under the building until it collapsed into a hole.


If the pilons are deep, you could always drill a few holes and inject some compound like this or insert some underwater dynamite.