Flood prevention is crucial for protecting an area from rising water levels. However, it’s also important to have a strong flood response strategy in place in case flooding occurs. For those designing flood prevention or flood response plans, costs are a crucial consideration, and there is often a need to make tough decisions between investing in prevention or response.
Flood Prevention and Flood Response
Municipalities need to adopt flood prevention and response strategies to protect people and the infrastructure. Businesses can also benefit from having flood prevention and response plans in place to protect their property.
What Is Flood Prevention?
Flood prevention refers to a number of measures taken to prevent flooding from happening or to reduce the impact of a flood.
What Is Flood Response?
Flood response focuses on the strategies you can adopt to manage a flood. The goal is to control the overflow of water, keep people safe, and limit damages to property.
What’s Better, Preventing or Responding to Floods?
Ideally, you should have a flood prevention strategy and a flood response plan in place. Prevention is crucial because it can prevent flooding or reduce its impact, but you still need to be ready in case flooding happens.
How Does Flooding Happen?
You need to understand why flooding happens to assess your risks and adopt the risk strategies for the prevention of flood.
The following risk factors can make flooding more likely to happen:
- Failing infrastructure, like broken dams and levees, can increase the risks of flooding.
- Overflowing streams and rivers are a common cause of flooding, for instance, with melted snow or heavy rainfalls adding water.
- Heavy rainfall alone can cause flooding if the area doesn’t have proper drainage.
- Storm surges, hurricanes, and tsunamis often result in flooding.
- Deforestation is a risk factor for flooding. Fewer trees will absorb water, and the lack of strong root systems can cause erosion.
- Erosion is another risk factor. Erosion often causes soil-laden water to end up in rivers, which can restrict the flow.
Where Flooding Occurs
Some regions are more at risk than others for flooding. These areas include:
- Cities in coastal regions, especially those near or below sea level.
- River floodplains, which describe flat areas near streams and rivers.
- Municipalities with outdated drainage systems.
- Areas with deforestation and erosion.
- Regions with heavy rainfalls or rapid ice melt.
Impacts of Flooding
Flooding is dangerous and expensive for different reasons. Here are some of the most common effects:
- Death. Rapidly rising water levels can be extremely dangerous, especially for those who get stuck in vehicles and washed away. In Texas, 76% of flood-related deaths involve vehicles.
- Property damage. Flooded basements often translate into expensive renovations for businesses and homeowners, without mentioning rising flood insurance premiums.
- Crop destruction. Water can flood fields and ruin crops, resulting in revenue loss for local farmers.
- Health issues. Flood water is standing water that can carry a number of contaminants and cause waterborne diseases through contact with sewage water or another source of polluted water.
How to Prevent Floods
There are different flood prevention methods to explore. Here are some of the most common ones.
Seawalls
A seawall acts as a permanent barrier that would contain overflowing water from the ocean. It’s a common measure in areas where there are issues with erosion on the coast.
Retaining Walls & Other Structures
Municipalities often invest in retaining walls and similar structures to control a potential overflow of water. Here are some of the most common structures used for the prevention of flood:
- Dikes, ditches, levees, or embankments. These structures use a similar concept. They form a wall that can contain water to an area or keep standing water away from a road.
- Dams. Dams are structures built across streams or rivers. They reduce the flow of water by holding some of the water back.
- Retention ponds. Retention ponds are artificial ponds designed to hold runoff water.
- Reservoirs. Reservoirs are another solution to store water. Water often goes into a reservoir where a dam controls the flow of water that gets out into a stream.
Drainage Basins
Drainage basins are larger systems for controlling water flow. A drainage basin refers to the streams and rivers that carry water into a lake, pond, or ocean, but this term also refers to the drainage that occurs over dry land.
Planting Vegetation
Planting vegetation to prevent deforestation and erosion is important. It reduces the risks of mudslides and soil-laden water restricting the flow of streams and rivers.
Town Planning & Proper Infrastructure
Municipalities need to invest in storm drains and sewage systems. Things like road maintenance are also important since damage can cause water to pool in some areas.
How to Respond to Floods
Flood prevention is important but it can’t eliminate risks completely. Municipalities and businesses need to adopt techniques for responding to floods besides implementing strategies for the prevention of flood.
Temporary Flood Control Barriers
Flood control barriers allow you to respond fast when the water level rises. There are different options to explore, including flip-up barriers or drop-down panels. These barriers form a temporary wall that stops water and keeps it out of an area.
TrapBag Barriers for Flood Prevention & Flood Response
TrapBag barriers are a cost-effective solution for flood prevention barriers and flood response. You can deploy these systems quickly to build levees, dams, dikes, or seawalls where needed.
The sturdy construction makes these barriers ideal for a permanent or semi-permanent solution to prevent flooding. And with their design that allows for fast deployment, these products are also ideal for responding to flooding.
There are several benefits to consider:
- It’s an affordable solution that delivers results.
- TrapBag barrier systems are flexible. You can easily customize the installation and adjust the length and height of the barrier.
- Fast deployment makes you more responsive. You can build a flood barrier before water spreads and causes more property damage.
- There is a wide range of applications, from flood barriers to stormwater containment or erosion control.
Prevent Your Next Flood Today With TrapBag
Flood prevention systems tend to be more expensive since there is a need to build permanent structures. However, failing to invest in prevention can lead to devastating consequences in the event of a flood.
The best way to mitigate risks is to focus on flood prevention and to have a strong flood response strategy in place. TrapBags can help with both aspects of this plan. Contact us today to learn more about our solutions!
