#floodproofing

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Resilient Building Design

In recent years, with the impacts of Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, and now Harvey, resiliency has become a “buzz” word. Resiliency branches off from the “sustainability/green” movement and aligns with many aspects in the newest thought process with “regenerative” and living buildings. As we deal with issues of extreme weather, and changes to our climate, many are realizing that a key survival, is to…

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Repair Your Home By Floodproofing After The Flood Has Passed And Save In The Process #flood

Repair Your Home By Floodproofing After The Flood Has Passed And Save In The Process #flood

[ad_1] There are ways to floodproof your home to comfort you and your loved ones after experiencing a flood. As you repair and rebuild take these preventions into consideration. They may save you from going through the agony of damages being done to your home again. Getting ready can also help by giving you a sense of control over your future. Here are some of the benefits to floodproofing your…

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New York City Altering Building Codes to be More Resilient

Last week,Mayor Michael R. Bloombergand Ms. Quinn convened a new “building resiliency” task force to study potential changes in the building code and to make recommendations by the summer. Ms. Quinn said she anticipated that the city would require retrofits to reinforce existing structures and more floodproofing for new projects.

The chairman of the task force, Russell Unger, is executive director of theUrban Green Council, which advises the city on sustainable building issues. He said the new group would need to address both direct impacts from the storm, like structure collapse and flooding, and secondary ones, like power losses from utility failures. Levels of protection will have to vary according to location, building use and other variables, he said.

Speaking of the different expectations for different buildings, for example, Mr. Unger said, “we probably expect elevators at senior centers to work, no matter what happens.”

Some of the potential measures are relatively simple, like keeping sandbags handy and installing floodgates at building entrances. Others are more complicated, like relocating critical equipment like boilers above ground level or encasing them in watertight enclosures and rebuilding houses on concrete piles.

The storm’s aftermath also revealed a need for emergency generators to run at least one elevator in tall residential buildings and to pump water to high floors so the buildings remain habitable after a severe storm, some owners said.

What does not seem to be getting consideration, at least for now, is banning development altogether in the city’s flood zones, humble or affluent.

“This is not a viable policy option in New York City, and to be honest, nor is it in any other major coastal city I’ve been working,” saidJeroen Aerts, a water risk expert from theFree University in Amsterdamwho has been hired by the mayor’s office to assess flood protections. “The stakes of developers and general economic activities in the waterfront are too high.”

In Mr. Aerts’s view, the most realistic options for New York are to build levees and surge barriers, and elevate and floodproof buildings.

Ms. Quinn, a likely candidate for mayor when Mr. Bloomberg’s term expires at the end of 2013, said changes in the building code were a far higher priority than rethinking zoning rules. But she said that nothing was off the table.

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On Saturday, volunteers from UNO-CHART went out to St. John the Baptist Parish to help residents with their recovery by giving out floodproofing tips, which were created by the LSU AgCenter. More information on floodproofing can be found on the LSU AgCenter's website.