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Unexpected Flooding. 24/7 Protection. Peace of Mind.

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Unexpected Flooding.
24/7 Protection.
Peace of Mind.

Tropical Storm Imelda brought unexpected heavy rain and flooding to parts of southeastern Texas. FloodBreak® passive automatic gates were ready.Heavy rain caused street flooding in Bellaire, TX, threatening below grade garages at 610 Loop office buildings including the new home for FloodBreak Automatic Floodgates, the Texas based manufacturer of passive automatic flood barrier systems that protect dozens of properties around Houston and are installed at thousands of vulnerable openings worldwide.

Fortunately, the building owners, SLS Properties, had 4 FloodBreak Vehicle Gates to prevent flooding of their garage. All 4 flood gates deployed during the flood event protecting tenant vehicles parked in the garage.  When the rain subsided and floodwaters receded, the floodgates returned to their hidden position at the top of the driveway & vehicles could exit.

When the rain subsided and floodwaters receded, the floodgates returned to their hidden position at the top of the driveway & vehicles could exit.

Dozens of FloodBreak automatic gates deployed around Houston when the flash flooding from Imelda threatened vulnerable assets.  Many like the gates at 3000 Post Oak had prevented flood inundation during Harvey & Tax Day flooding. Read about Harvey Saves

FloodBreak passive automatic are designed for these conditions and provide owners with peace of mind knowing that protection is not dependent upon their facilities personnel mobilizing to close gates, locate and assemble flood planks or pile sandbags.  FloodBreak barriers are passive automatic – they deploy without human intervention or power. Read more about How it Works.

“It’s structural. It’s incredibly strong, but it lays in the ground. And it’s so simple. It just floats up.”

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The FloodBreak® Automatic Floodgate was recently featured in Business Insider.  The media platform interviewed FloodBreak President and Founder, Lou Waters, to discuss how the revolutionary technology protects communities from natural disasters without human intervention.

The Business Insider feature ie entitled: How an automatic floodgate is helping communities against natural disasters

  • The FloodBreak passive automatic  floodgate can work in flash floods and areas that are unprepared for natural disasters.
  • It uses the hydrostatic pressure of the flood water, the gate does not need to be controlled or operated by people.

FloodBreak floodgates were deployed during Hurricane Harvey in Houston saving numerous commercial buildings, hospitals and other assets. Read more.

FloodBreak automatic gates have deployed in dozens of locations including Norfolk VA, Bloomsburg PA, Alexandria VA, Hillside NJ, Great Neck NY, Davenport IA, Solon OH, Dallas TX, Oklahoma City OK, Chicago IL and Houston TX.

Read more about the revolutionary passive technology that deploys the self rising panel without human intervention or power.

Newsletter

Slimline Gates protect against low level street flooding

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PROTECTION AGAINST LOW LEVEL FLOODING

The FloodBreak® Slimline Vehicle Gate is designed for low level flooding where less than 2′ flood protection is desired.

Originally designed for EDF to protect nuclear power plants in France, the Slimline model met the requirement for a fully passive automatic flood barrier that could support HS-25 vehicular loads, protection height under 2 feet, and a shallow installation footprint.  Like all FloodBreak passive automatic flood barriers, there is no length limitation due to the unique, modular design.  Gate heights of 25cm & 50cm are available.

The ability to automatically protect against flash flooding without human intervention or mechanical assistance has made the Slimline flood barrier a popular design for driveways and below grade garages susceptible to street flooding.

Just like the standard FloodBreak Automatic Floodgates that have been protecting customers for over a decade, the Slimline Vehicle Gate deploys automatically without human intervention or power. A Slimline Vehicle Gate installed in Houston after the Tax Day 2016 flood,  deployed to prevent floodwater from entering the below grade garage when Hurricane Harvey hit Houston.

Read more about FloodBreak automatic floodgates protecting customer assets during Hurricane Harvey.

See more of what other flood protection solutions FloodBreak has to offer

FloodBreak Products

FloodBreak flood barriers deploy automatically in PA

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GATES DEPLOY IN BLOOMSBURG, PA

Three FloodBreak® passive automatic floodgates are part of an EDA infrastructure investment that helped protect major manufacturers in Bloomsburg PA.

In September of 2011, Tropical Storm Lee caused catastrophic flooding in the Town of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. Almost a third of the community was underwater including two major employers who suffered heavy damage. After the 2011 event and following flooding in 2004, 2005 & 2006, local community leaders worked with EDA to obtain disaster recovery funding that was used to build a floodwall to protect vital business infrastructure. FloodBreak passive automatic floodgates were installed at 3 vehicle entrances in the floodwall. These closure devices remain open during dry times allow full access while providing 24/7 flood protection.

During the August 13, 2018 flood event the FloodBreak barriers deployed automatically without human intervention or power to prevent flood inundation from river flooding. Read the EDA success story here.

The automatic deployments are the latest in a long list of verified flood saves. A year ago, in August 2017, FloodBreak barriers protected over a dozen Houston area customers during the unprecedented flooding from Hurricane Harvey. In fact FloodBreak flood barriers protected Houston customers during Tax Day 2016 and Memorial Day 2015 floods.

FloodBreak has dozens of verified flood saves including some customers who have been protected multiple times.

Notable was Lourdes Hospital, located on the Susequehanna River upstream from Bloomsburg, which was saved during the 20111 flood by ten (10) FloodBreak automatic flood gates installed in 2010.

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Saved Again. Houston Building Protected from Harvey Flooding

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HOUSTON BUILDING PROTECTED FROM HARVEY FLOODING

After being inundated during the Memorial Day 2015 Flood, the property management team did not want to go through that again.

They installed a FloodBreak passive automatic flood barrier to protect the loading dock and mechanical equipment at their Houston office building. Fortunately they did as 11 months later the Tax Day 2016 flood hit Houston and the automatic flood gate deployed without human intervention to prevent floodwaters from inundating the loading dock.  A year later when Harvey flooded Houston, not only their loading dock was protected but also their parking garage where they had added 5 more passive automatic floodgates.

FloodBreak passive automatic flood barriers eliminate the need for human intervention.   The buoyant barrier is lifted by the flood water – no people, no power.

Read about their success story in a  Houston Chronicle article.

During non flood times, they gates allow full access to vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

3000 Post Oak was one of over a dozen locations protected during Harvey. Locations included the Houston Galleria, MD Anderson Cancer Center and numerous commercial office buildings and luxury apartments.

An idea born in Tropical Storm Allison saves Houston businesses in Hurricane Harvey

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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.

Historic Rosenberg Library Protected by Passive Flood Barriers

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Architecturally Integrated Flood Gates Protect Rosenberg Library.

Customer: Rosenberg Public Library
Location: Galveston, TX
Products: Vehicle and Pedestrian Gates
Installation dates: 2010 – 2011

Background
The Rosenberg Library, a historic building on Galveston Island in Texas, was ravaged by Hurricane Ike in 2008 but now is fully restored and protected from future storms.  Today the many Texas treasures on display at the Rosenberg Library Museum, inside the Rosenberg Library, are protected by FloodBreak passive flood barriers as part of an overall hurricane proofing of the building. Damage was extensive as part of the building was under as much as 6 feet of floodwater at the height of Ike’s storm surge.

The FloodBreak Solution:

Solution

Two 7′ tall passive flood barriers from FloodBreak protect the bottom floor entrances to the 500 year flood elevation.

But you wouldn’t know it unless you looked very closely as they are covered by carpet and instead of the the standard aluminum wiper walls, they use polished concrete, stained to match the historic building architecture. Though hidden, they provide 24/7 flood protection and should another storm surge or flood occur, the floodwater will cause the buoyant floodgates to deploy and seal against the sidewalls.

Results
The Rosenberg Library is the oldest public library in Texas in continuous operation. It holds about 7,500 items related to the history of Galveston and the Republic of Texas.  Hurricane Ike resulted in devastating damage but the library today is better than ever and protected against future storms.

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