An Idea Born In Tropical Storm Allison saves Houston businesses in Hurricane Harvey
Almost two decades ago, Houston endured an unprecedented flood disaster during Tropical Storm Allison. At the time, Allison was the costliest flood disaster in US history.
Born of the challenges in protecting properties at the time of need, FloodBreak has become a worldwide success story in flood protection while continuing to deliver foolproof solutions to customers in the Houston area. Hurricane Harvey yet again brought unprecedented flooding to Houston, but fortunately many customers were protected by FloodBreak’s passive automatic flood barrier systems.
Customers across the Gulf Coast area, including the MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston Galleria, commercial office buildings and even a Houston homeowner saw their properties go undamaged even while neighbors were inundated by the floods. Many of these customers don’t have resources at the ready to actively close their barriers or didn’t want to shut down access days in advance. They relied on their FloodBreak passive automatic gates to automatically deploy without human intervention or power to prevent inundation when floodwaters approached. This allowed for full use of their properties in the run-up to the storm and immediately after the water cleared, while other FloodBreak customers deployed their barriers in advance as part of emergency preparedness to concentrate on other preparedness measures.
Hurricane Harvey wasn’t the first time FloodBreak passive flood barriers deployed to protect customer locations. Two recent rain events in Houston, the 2016 Tax Day & the 2015 Memorial Day Floods, saw multiple customers protected when unexpected, overnight flash flooding caught facilities personnel off guard. Fortunately for them, their assets were protected when FloodBreak floodgates passively deployed to prevent flood inundation. In fact, FloodBreak automatic floodgates have saved customers in at least 13 states and internationally, with some locations protected multiple times.
Read more about FloodBreak’s beginnings and successful cutomers in About Us
Since its invention in 2001, FloodBreak now has over 700 floodgates installed in 10 countries. Customers include world class hospitals, major transportation systems, government buildings, commercial real estate, industrial plants including wastewater, hazardous chemicals, and nuclear power, DOT roadways and small businesses.
Contact FloodBreak to learn how our range of flood protection solutions can help you.
