Cob: foundation height in lowcountry S.C. + a question for EVERYBODY

[orionrider at earthlink.net]

Hello everyone,

The largest thing I have ever built is a dog-house.  But cob seems to call my
wife and I's name.  Like a sunny hobbit hole!  I am an artist, and the
aesthetics of a hand sculpted house hold a strong appeal.  Not to mention the
price...

We are currently looking at buying land in lowcountry South Carolina, near
Charleston.  I have spoken with the zoning police recently, and they were
actually quite friendly.  From the questions they could answer, and from their
attitude, I really think they will work with me on this.  The man I spoke with
said in three years that he has worked there only two people have ever
discussed it.  He also said they never submitted plans and just never built
it.  So if I attempted it, I would be a first!

However, I have a few questions that I'm hoping someone will be kind enough to
answer.  I have waded through hundreds of previous posts without finding the
specific answer, but if I am rehashing an old topic please forgive me.

First of all, the area is subject to flooding.  While we would be several
miles inland from the coast, we would still be near a lot of
river/marsh/inlets etc.  Many of the houses are up on stilts. 

I'm aware that cob is relatively heavy, and as such it requires a strong
foundation.  Is it feasible to build cob on stilts?  If not, what is the best
way to raise the foundation with proper support?

Also, while we don't recieve nearly as much rainfall as say, Oregon, we do
occasionally have tropical storms and hurricanes.  I'm not worried about the
structural integrity, and I have read about a few of the precautions to take
for such a scenario.  OF these, which are most important when designing my
house?  And I'm going to throw a "unanswerable" question in there; ROUGHLY how
much extra cost is involved in stormproofing it for the above mentioned
factors?

Thanks for any and all advice,

God bless

Kevin McGrew