Not all floods are created equal. Every flood features water, of course, but where that water comes from can be very different for each situation. In addition, the accumulation of floodwater can happen at different rates and can be accompanied by strong winds, powerful currents, troublesome debris and a host of other factors. It stands to reason, then, that each combination of characteristics that make a flood unique also requires flooding solutions that are distinctly developed to address them. Treating all floods the same can lead to breakdowns in flood protection, but fortunately, proper planning can secure virtually any business or building against the destructive power of floodwaters.
The Facts:
According to the National Weather Service, “Flooding is a coast-to-coast threat to the United States and its territories in all months of the year… Approximately seventy-five percent of all Presidential disaster declarations are associated with flooding.”
If you’re reading the article, this isn’t news to you. It is likely that you are very familiar with flooding and its potential for catastrophic damage. What you may not have considered, though, is that flooding over such a massive geographic area means that different parts of North America (and the world) receive different kinds of flooding.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Severe Storms Laboratory recognizes five distinct types of flooding:
River Flooding
This type of flooding results from a river rising over the top of its banks due to excessive rain from storms (either thunderstorms or tropical storms making landfall), snowmelt, ice jams or some combination of these. This can happen quickly, but in general, a river flood is fairly predictable because it develops over the course of days or even weeks. Anywhere near a river (including the majority of cites across the globe) can experience this type of flooding.
Coastal Flooding
This is the inundation of land areas along the coast. It is caused by higher than average tide, heavy rainfall and strong winds blowing landward from the ocean. In the United States, this is especially problematic in the eastern United States, including Georgia, South Carolina, Florida and even New York City. It can happen several times per year depending on the weather.
Storm Surges
The National Severe Storms Laboratory defines this as an abnormal rise in water level in coastal areas, over and above the regular astronomical tide, cased by forces generated from a severe storm’s wind, waves and low atmospheric pressure. These surges are extremely dangerous, capable of flooding large coastal areas very quickly with tides reaching 20 feet or more in some cases. Hurricanes are the main challenge here, and that puts anyone living on America’s Gulf Coast, East Coast or even far inland to a mountain region at risk for flooding.
Inland Flooding
According to the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit: By definition, inland flooding doesn’t occur on the coast, yet hazard specialists consider it with other coastal issues because it is often the result of landfalling coastal storms.
Inland floods can also occur after rain falls for many days in a row, as a result of brief periods of intense precipitation, when snowpack melts quickly, or when dams or levees fail. Whenever the volume of water on land overcomes the capacity of natural and built drainage systems to carry it away, inland flooding can result.
This gives inland flooding some overlap with river flooding of course, but also includes flooding that doesn’t necessarily involve a river. By definition, this means that inland flooding can occur virtually anywhere.
Flash Flooding
A flash flood is caused by heavy rainfall in a short period of time (usually six hours or less). These floods are characterized by raging torrents after heavy rains that pour through river beds, urban streets or mountain canyons. They can occur over hours or even minutes. A flash flood would also occur if a levee or dam fails, or after a sudden release of water by debris or an ice jam. Areas damaged by wildfires are particularly susceptible to flash flooding, but anywhere that experiences heavy rainfall – whether frequently or infrequently – can be affected.
The Challenge:
Different locations experience different types of flooding. As such, a “one-size-fits-all” solution can come up short because it doesn’t necessarily account for the specific challenge combinations each area faces. Careful planning is necessary, especially for businesses, commercial buildings and industrial facilities. These structures feature many openings, some of which are large or even below ground. Each point through which floodwater might enter the building must be accounted for, and each factor of the flood, from speed to water height to wind to debris, must be considered.
The Solution:
The first step in protecting your building against the types of flooding that threaten your local area is to partner with a flood solution team that offers multiple types of flood barriers (including custom ones) that have been proven successful in many different locations across the globe.
The experts at PS Flood Barriers™ engineer, design and manufacture flood solutions for flood-threatened structures around the world, from factories, commercial buildings and government facilities to power plants, subway tunnels and even mines. Each door and opening requires a flood solution that offers the best combination of features for each structure as it relates to its surroundings, weather, geography and use.
For example, active flood solutions might be best suited for flooding situations where there is more time to react for assembly and deployment. In these cases, products might include a HydroDefense® Flood Planks™, EzDam® barriers, Sliding or Vertical Lift Flood Barriers to name a few.
On the other hand, many solutions from PS Flood Barriers are passive, and require no human intervention. For flooding that develops quickly (such as flash floods), products such as Hydro1® Flood Doors or AquaTrigger® Automatic Flip-Up or Self-Closing Flood Barriers may be the most effective.
Flood barriers that feature point-of-use storage are also convenient and quick to deploy (though they do require human interaction). Products such as the Flex-Gate® Bottom Deploy and the Flex-Gate® Side Deploy are examples of this type of protection, which may be well suited to structures that are preparing for inland or coastal flooding.
For storm surges and heavy coastal flooding from hurricanes, PS Flood Barriers has several solutions that are constructed and tested to stand up to the most punishing flood conditions. Hydro1 flood doors, for example, feature the lowest leakage rates in the industry and include models that have passed Florida Product Approval testing, including approval for the High Velocity Hurricane Zone (Miami-Dade and Broward counties).
In addition, some of PS Flood Barriers’ products do specific jobs, perfect for situations with unique requirements. For example, the Flex-Cover® Grate and Flex-Cover Stairwell protect against flooding through their namesake openings, while the Flex-Cover Resilient Tunnel Plug keeps floodwaters our of large tunnels such as those used by subway systems or public transportation.
Finally, virtually every PS Flood Barriers solution can be customized to successfully protect virtually any opening on virtually any structure. By tailoring the characteristics or a flood barrier to the opening’s location, uses and unique flooding challenges, the experienced team at PS Flood Barriers can provide flood solutions that provide the very best protection possible.
If you’d like to find out more about the solutions available from PS Flood Barriers, call 877-446-1519 or click here to use our contact form. No matter where you are located in the world or what kind of flooding challenges you and your facility face, we can offer advice, direction and products to keep floodwaters at bay.
Sources:
www.weather.gov/safety/flood-hazards
www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/floods/types/
toolkit.climate.gov/topics/coastal-flood-risk/inland-flooding