Professional Documents
Culture Documents
TheEffectonbuildingsduetofloodsare:
a)Waterunderhighstreamvelocitywashesawaythehouses.b)
Risingwatersmaycauseinflotationofhousesfromtheir
foundations.c)Eventhoughhousesremainintactontheir
foundation,floodsmaycauseseveredamagetomaterials.d)
Velocityofwatermayerodethfoundationofthehousewhich
mayresultinthecollapseofthehouse.e)Massivefloating
objectsliketrees,electricpoles,etc.,mayeffectthestanding
housesandcausesignificantdamage.f)Otherformsofdamage
arewallerosion,cracksandbulgingdamagetowatersupply,
sanitationandelectricalsystems.
Protectionmeasuresagainstfloodsare:
a)Residingonriverbanksandslopesonriverbanksshouldbe
avoided.b)Buildingsshouldbebuiltat250metersawayfromthe
seacoast/riverbanks.c)Tobuildproperdrainagesystemsinall
floodpronearea.d)Toconstructthewholevillageorsettlement
onaraisedplatformhigherthanthehighfloodlevel.e)To
constructthebuildingwithaplinthlevelhigherthantheknown
highfloodlevel.
Theeffectsofcyclonesonbuildingsare:
i)Punchingandblowingoffofcorrugatedironroofingsheets
attachedtosteeltrusses.ii)Brittlefailureofasbestoscement
sheetingoftheroofsofindustrialsheds;failureofthesesheetsis
generallyridgesandgableends.iii)Failureoflargeindustrial
buildingswithlightweightroofcoveringsandlong/tallwallsdue
tocombinationofinternalandexternalpressures.
iv)Failureofroofingelementsandwallsalongthegableends
particularlyduetohighinternalpressures.v)Overturning
failuresofcompoundwallsofvarioustypes.vi)Failuresof
improperlyattachedorconstructedparapets.
vii)Damagetoroof/lintelprojections.viii)Damagetoimproperly
attachedwindowsorwindowframes.
Thebeststrategytoavoidflooddamageiscertainlytoavoid
floodproneareas(Hooijeretal.,2004;Royetal.,2003).Set
tlingandaccumulatingvaluesininundationareasisalwaysa
risk,sinceabsolutefloodprotectionisimpossible.Technical
protectionmeasureslikedykesorfloodretentionbasinscanfail
orbeovertoppedduringextremeevents.Wherevillagesor
townsalreadyexist,flooddamagemustbekeptassmallas
possible.Combinedstructuralandnonstructuralflood
mitigationplansseemmostpromisingandareexpectedtoresult
insignificanteconomicbenefit(Hayes,2004).Anonstructural
optiontoreducetheremainingriskintheshorttermandfora
sustainedperiodoftimearebuildingprecautionarymeasures
(LAWA,1995).Itisbelievedthatthesemeasuresarevery
effectiveespeciallyinareaswithfrequentfloodeventsandlow
floodwaterlevels(ICPR,2002),butdataabouttheireffectsare
rare.AnexceptionisthereportNonStructuralFloodPlain
ManagementMeasuresandtheirEffectivenessbythe
InternationalCommissionfortheProtectionoftheRhine
(ICPR,2002).Itevaluatestheeffectivenessofvariousmeasures
dependingontheircapabilitytoreducetheexistentdamage
potentialortheincreaseindamagepotentialandgivesanidea
oftheirimportanceconcerningfloodsofdifferentfrequency
andintensity.Thedamagereductionpotentialofvarious
measuresisgiveninabsolutemonetaryvaluesandinpercentage
classes.Unfortunately,itremainsunclearonwhichdatabasis
theseestimatesrelyon.Thus,afterthe2002floodinGermanya
surveywasundertakentoimprovethelimitedknowledgeabout
damagemitigationmeasures.Althoughitisacknowledgedthat
thepreventionofdamagetopeople(lossoflife,adversehealth
effects)ismostimportant,thepresentstudyislimitedtothe
mitigationeffectsondirectmonetaryflooddamagetoresi
dentialbuildingstructureandcontents.
2Reviewanddefinitionsofbuildingprecautionarymeasures
Thefollowingbuildingprecautionarymeasuresmaymitigate
lossesinfloodproneareas(Fig.1):
elevatedconfiguration,shieldingwithwaterbarriers,
waterproofsealing,fortification,floodadapteduse,flood
adaptedinteriorfitting,safeguardingofhazardoussubstances.
Buildingafloodadaptedhousestructure,e.g.usinganes
peciallystablebuildingfoundationorwaterproofsealthecel
lar,isgenerallyquiteexpensiveandcanfailespeciallyduring
extremefloods(MURL,2000).However,steelframeandbrick
buildingstendtobelesssusceptibletocollapsethanother
material,andwaterproofdrywallwillholdupforlongperiodsof
inundation(USACE,1996).Generally,theimprovementofthe
stabilityofabuildingcountersthedamagecausedbybuoyancy,
waterpressure,erosionandwashingoutoffreestanding
elements.Whengroundwaterrisesabovethefoundationofthe
building,thewallsandthebasisofthebuildingaresubjectedto
buoyancyforcesandwaterpressure.Countermeasuresthatcan
beundertakenincludeanchoringthebuildingorensuringthat
thebuildingitselfisheavyenough.Onlyifthebuoyancyforces
surpasstheeffectofthesemeasures,thebuildinghastobe
flooded.
Topreventpenetrationofsurfacewaterandgroundwater,any
openingsinthebuildingmustberaisedorsealingmeasures
mustbeimplemented.Backwatervalvesstopthewaterfrom
enteringthebuildingviasanitationincasesofbackwaterinthe
sewagenetwork(DTLR,2002).Buildingsaresealedbyusing
bitumenorstripsofplastic(EnvironmentAgency,2003a)orby
constructingthebasisandwallsofbuildingsoutofconcretethat
isalmostnonpermeable(BMVBW,2002).However,water
shouldonlybekeptoutofthebuildingsaslongastheyare
stable.Asageneralrule,themaximumheightofwaterproofing
shouldbeapproximatelyonemeterabovetheground,unless
furtherstructuralbuildingimprovementswereundertaken
5Conclusions
Buildingprecautionarymeasureshaveasignificantpotentialto
reduceflooddamageofresidentialbuildingsandcontents.
Althoughthesemeasuresaremainlyeffectiveduringsmall
floods,theyevenledtosignificantmeandamagereductionsof
upto53%forbuildingsandcontentsduringtheextremeflood
eventin2002.Thefloodmotivatedarelativelylargenumberof
peopletoimplementprivateriskreductionmeasures.Afterthe
flood,oneormorebuildingprecautionarymeasureswere
undertakenby42%ofthehouseholds.Thismotivationshould
furtherbestimulatedwiththehelpofinformationcampaigns
andfinancialincentives.Therewith,preparednesshastobekept
overtime.
Acknowledgements.ThesurveywasundertakenwithintheGer
manResearchNetworkNaturalDisasters(DFNK),in
cooperationbetweentheSectionEngineeringHydrologyatthe
GFZPotsdamandtheDeutscheRu ckversicherungAG.We
thanktheDeutscheRu ckversicherungAGandtheGerman
MinistryforEducationandResearch(BMBF)(No.
01SFR9969/5)forthefinancialsupport.DataAnalysiswaspart
oftheinterdisciplinaryLessonsLearnedProcessinitiatedbythe
GermanCommitteefordisasterreduction(DKKV)aftertheflood
in2002,whichwasfinancedbytheGermanRedCross.