MTA Tests FloodBreak Vent Shaft System for Subway Flood Protection
The FloodBreak® Vent Shaft System is a versatile flood control product line that protects a range of ventilation openings above and below grade.
Initially designed as a flood control solution for the MTA, the closure device passively protects subway system vents from being inundated by localized street flooding.
In response to Sandy, The MTA asked FloodBreak to develop a 2nd generation closure device to protect against coastal storm surge for their vulnerable vent openings, particularly in lower Manhattan. It would only be used in a planned shutdown if a major storm like Hurricane Irene or Superstorm Sandy approached the city.
This system was recently tested for government leaders and featured in the Wall Street Journal.
Here’s the link: A Grate Fix for Flooding
The double–gated device is designed for 10’ pressure head, near 100% airflow during “rest” position and is deployable by single operator with special tool, a MTA requirement. It is simple by design, requiring no maintenance, no power and ready for quick deployment.
Once installed inside the ventilation shafts, the units will eliminate the need for the labor intensive and risky process previously used where MTA personnel covered sidewalk grates with plywood and sand bags.
Historic Rosenberg Library Protected by Passive Flood Barriers
NJ dealership saved again from flash flooding
The FloodBreak® passive flood barrier installed in 2008, once again protected Route 22 Honda, a Hillside, NJ Honda dealership, when flash floods came unexpectedly again this summer. The FloodBreak Vehicle Gate deployed automatically. lifted by the fast rising floodwaters caused by a slow-moving thunderstorm that inundated sections of Route 22 in Union County, NJ forcing road closure. Fortunately, Route 22 Honda was protected from damage to vehicles parked in their underground garage, just as they were protected during two previous flood events.
The Honda dealer is no stranger to flooding as they have experienced floods in past years including in 2010 when their decision to install a FloodBreak Automatic Floodgate paid for itself when it protected their property and helped reduce insurance premiums.
Read about more FloodBreak saves
FloodBreak presents solution to raise levees for FEMA accreditation at FMA Conference
FloodBreak participated with levee experts at the 2013 FMA Annual Conference to discuss an innovative approach used by the IBWC to raise their levees to meet new flood elevations. The title of the presentation was “Raise Levees for FEMA Accreditation Without Raising Roadways or Bridges – An Innovative Approach and Case Study”
An innovative and potentially less costly alternative is the use of passive flood barriers that extend across roadways and connect the levee at the new elevation requirement. These flood barriers are permanently installed beneath the roadway to allow continuous traffic service and are raised during flood events without human intervention or power to protect the dry/landward side.
FloodBreak prevents flood damage at the Vanderbilt Eye Institute
A FloodBreak® passive floodgate system was installed at the Vanderbilt Eye Institute in Nashville, TN to provide permanent protection 24/7 against future flooding.
The Vanderbilt Eye Institute, a department of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, was inundated with two feet of water on the first floor in the 2010 Flood. Flooding on the Cumberland River also damaged the Grand Ole Opry House, Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, Bridgestone Arena and LP Field – home of the Tennessee Titans.
The FloodBreak pedestrian floodgate is permanently installed beneath grade at the Eye Institue entrance and will deploy automatically, without human intervention or power, should floodwaters approach the building. The passive system is comprised of a buoyant beam that is lifted by the hydrostatic pressure from the rising floodwaters to prevent the water from entering through the doorway. Self activating gaskets seal the barrier against the sidewalls.
FloodBreak chosen to protect another hospital
The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is an 84-acre campus on Galveston Island that was devastated by Hurricane Ike. FEMA awarded the state of Texas more than $90 million, in the form of a Public Assistance Grant, for flood mitigation including FloodBreak passive flood barriers as part of dry floodproofing measures. FEMA requires that all non-residential structures that are located in Zone AE and are to be substantially improved must either have their lowest floors elevated to or above the base Flood Elevation (BFE) or be dry floodproofed (made substantially impermeable) to or above the BFE.
FloodBreak passive flood barriers were chosen to provide permanent impermeable passive protection, but also because they are designed to withstand hydrostatic, hydrodynamic, and impact forces produced by flooding or high water events. When completed, the Primary Care Pavilion will have 13 FloodBreak passive flood barriers protecting vulnerable entrances.
UTMB joins a growing list of protected hospitals:
- MD Anderson Cancer Center – Houston, TX
- Lourdes Hospital – Binghamton, NY
- Columbus Regional Hospital – Columbus, IN
- Bayshore Medical Center – Pasadena, TX
- Christus Hospital St. Elizabeth – Beaumont, TX
- Lebanon Medical Center – Lebanon, OH
- Cheyenne Medical Center – Cheyenne, WY
Hidden Passive Flood Barriers Protect Restaurant 24/7
FloodBreak® passive flood barriers provide permanent flood protection and are virtually invisible with tile covering.
Raise Levees Without Raising Bridges
FloodBreak® Roadway Gates are a cost effective way to raise levees that must extend across roads and highways to meet FEMA accreditation requirements.
FloodBreak Presentation at NAO Conference
FloodBreak presented flood mitigation technology solutions at the National Aerospace Organization (NAO) conference in November, 2012 in Cocoa Beach FL. The conference: Protecting Military Airbases & Commercial Airports from the Destructive Forces of Nature and was designed to help military airbases or municipal and regional airports protect their facilities, aircraft, personnel, and assets against the destructive forces of nature including hurricanes and flooding.
Representatives from general and commercial aviation, municipal and regional airports, military airbase representatives and military civil engineering project managers attended the event.
FloodBreak demonstrated its passive flood mitigation technology with a demonstration trailer where viewers could see the passive flood barrier lifted by the hydrostatic pressure from the floodwater.
Learn more about the conference and the NAO by watching the video featuring Colonel John D. Thomas, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) President, National Aerospace Organization.