Reason Magazine 2014 Quartal 2 Seite 51

Hinweis: Dies ist eine maschinenlesbare No-Flash Ansicht.
Klicken Sie hier um zur Online-Version zu gelangen.

Inhalt

levels in Lake Winnipeg our largest lake and the 10th largest in the world notes Steve Ashton Minister of the Manitoba Depart ment of Infrastructure and Transportation His department s Water Management and Structures Division oversees among other things the province s hydrologic forecast ing water management emergency response management and flood mitigation initiatives According to Ashton in March 2009 Manitoba experienced significant ice jam flooding in the Red River Valley Coinciden tally U S Flood Control was demonstrat ing the use of its Tiger Dam flood barriers in a nearby municipality They were able to deploy the temporary barriers within a matter of hours and help protect a number of homes from flooding he recalls These and other temporary barriers are a critical part of our flood response system Ashton compares fixed dams flood ways and levees to France s World War II Maginot line of fixed defenses Fixed flood defenses are critical but you still need an array of flexible fast response measures as well Particularly in our climate we need to be able to respond rapidly when an unex pected situation arises Ice jams are common in the spring as southern melt water hits us before the ice has melted on our rivers During historic flooding on the Manito ba s Assiniboine River in the spring of 2011 an emergency breach was made in a levee along the river to help prevent an uncontrolled breach in a highly populated area downstream Prior to making the intentional breach the Canada Army and others deployed temporary barriers around vulnerable homes helping to save many homes and prevent other losses It came as no surprise when U S Flood Control announced last year that their Tiger Dam product had been FM Approved as well as attaining the highest level of certification by the ASFPM Ashton says We have seen firsthand how they have taken an already innovative product and made it better and bet ter over the years I also believe the experi ence they have gained in helping us to fight floods in Manitoba has played a key role in their product improvements FACING FLOOD RISK While ideally every building should be built outside of known flood zones the reality is that approximately one in 10 commercial facilities are already located within a flood zone The solution for these property owners is not cut and dried so to speak Facilities at risk for flooding must prepare well in advance in order to keep water out of critical build ings and limit resulting damage if floodwater enters a structure FM Global Property Loss Prevention Data Sheet 1 40 Flood provides recommendations for the prevention and miti gation of losses due to flooding FM Global loss history studies show that well prepared organizations including those with a tested FERP have significantly less damage and resume operations sooner than those who are unprepared Guidance in pre paring a FERP is included in Data Sheet 10 2 Emergency Response All FM Global data sheets are available publicly at fmglobal com datasheets SANDBAGS ARE OLD SCHOOL When I first started in this business 10 years ago I looked at these giant towers and huge facilities with hundreds of millions of dollars invested in them and I couldn t believe it when I saw they were trying to protect them from flooding with sandbags observes U S Flood Control president Paul Vickers Everything about these facilities is en gineered and properly maintained Then when it comes to something that could potentially put them out of business many rely on sand bags It didn t make sense Times are changing and firms today realize that flood protection and preparedness are important parts of contingency and business recovery planning Standardization is so important in any industry Vickers continues The FM Approval mark on our products is a ma jor step toward professionalizing this industry There are thousands of certified fire protection products on the market but only a handful of certified flood mitigation products I encourage all companies with flood control products to go through the FM Approvals test program Among the physical preparations firms can take to reduce the impact of flood include the permanent relocation to elevations above the flood level for electrical computer and telecommunications equipment If that is not possible permanent protection of the equip ment should be considered Other prepara tions include backflow preventers and sump pumps for drains and sewers relocation at elevations greater than the flood level of high value stock and processing equipment and permanent or temporary barriers to pro tect buildings and building openings against floodwaters CHOOSING FLOOD PROTECTION PRODUCTS CAN BE A CHALLENGE The prevalence of major flooding events worldwide has resulted in an increase in the number of manufacturers offering flood mitigation products of every imaginable design and quality level It s very much the Wild West out there when it comes to flood ISSUE 2 2014 Reason 51