The Problem: Flooding in Louisiana
With the looming threat of intense hurricanes and heavy rainfalls causing river floods to become dangerously regular, reliable flood protection is becoming more and more necessary in Louisiana. While this southern, coastal state already experiences regular occurrences of costly flooding, it is projected that by 2050, over 800,000 properties will be at substantial risk for flood damage due to rising sea levels.
In 2016, the state saw at least $10 billion in economic losses as a result of flooding, with a few billion in insured losses. Proper flood protection is necessary to combat both the loss of life and public and private property damage, ensuring the state of Louisiana maintains its land value, economy, livelihood, and culture.
The Solution: Louisiana Chooses TrapBag
TrapBag barriers are the chosen method of flood protection in the event of a declared emergency by the governor of the state of Louisiana. In 2020, TrapBag submitted a public bid to supply flood protection, seeing the need for cost-effective, durable flood protection in the state. After being awarded that bid, it was renewed in April of 2021.
When a state of emergency is declared due to extreme flooding, municipalities can place an order and receive up to 30,000 bags within 24 hours. While our team does not handle the installation process, we are happy to provide training to your organization to ensure you are receiving effective, leakproof protection.
Why Trust TrapBag?
For over 16 years, TrapBags have been providing affordable, durable, easily deployable protection from devastating floodwaters. TrapBag barriers are leading the industry in flood protection. Originally designed specifically for flash floods, there is no better method of flood barrier to trust in an emergency situation.
Not only have they been highly tested by the US Army Corp of Engineers, but TrapBags have also been successfully used in Louisiana before. In 2011, a two-mile-long TrapBag levee helped support the Pontchartrain Levee District by providing additional height to the East Bank Mississippi River Levee. This prevented water from spilling over and causing costly damage to the surrounding area.
Providing a secure, low-cost solution to protect your citizens, critical infrastructure, and your community’s livelihood is our passion.
Flood Protection vs. Flood Insurance
The price of flood insurance has been steadily increasing. In late 2021, it was reported that flood insurance was heading towards exponential increases, and it was estimated that almost 1 million Louisianians would drop their protection due to the steep jumps in cost.
At TrapBag, we believe no one should be forced to leave themselves unprotected against damaging floods, which is why an affordable form of flood protection is more important than ever.
TrapBag Barriers As Flood Protection
TrapBags can be arranged to be used as flood protection for critical infrastructure and other property during hurricanes and severe rainstorms.
Levees
During periods of heavy rainfall, rivers can swell and spill over onto roads, farmland, neighborhoods, bridges, etc., leaving immense, costly destruction behind. Levees are walls typically laid alongside rivers to prevent these rising water levels from infiltrating surrounding municipalities, though they can be placed along oceanic coasts, too.
TrapBags can make reliable levees on their own or be stacked onto existing levees, providing a few extra feet of sturdy protection when water levels continue to rise.
Dams
Whereas levees have water on one side, dams are structures that usually have water on both sides. Dams are incredibly important to contain floodwaters, working to slow or completely stop the flow of water. If compromised, they can allow for floodwaters to rush out, wreaking havoc on the surrounding area.
TrapBag barriers can be filled with concrete to create permanent dams or supply temporary stabilization to existing dams in the event one is at risk of being compromised.
Dikes
Similar to levees, dikes are embankments that run parallel to a water source, keeping areas of land that would normally be under sea level from being flooded. Dikes allow for more areas to be utilized for industrial and agricultural purposes by holding water back.
Seawall Alternatives
TrapBag barriers work wonderfully when deployed as a form of seawall. Many traditional types of seawalls are expensive, difficult to install, and can exacerbate the erosion of the installation site. TrapBags, conversely, are affordable, simple and quick to deploy, and do not require ground penetration, ensuring the existing land is left intact.
Erosion Control
Strong waves associated with hurricanes can crash into land, weakening the integrity, causing it to slowly crumble and wash away. The depletion of land leads to decreased property value. TrapBag barriers are a long-lasting, dependable form of erosion control, maintaining the useable surface area and economic value of coastal property.
Spill Control
Natural disasters like hurricanes and flash floods can lead to hazardous incidents, such as chemical spills. Time is truly of the essence in these environmentally-threatening situations, and high-strength TrapBags are the perfect fast-acting solution for containing contaminated water or chemicals.
Stormwater Containment
When floodwater runs through urban areas, it picks up all kinds of debris and contaminants along the way. If this debris is deposited in the water supply, it can be detrimental to the community.
TrapBag barriers can be arranged in a way that diverts and contains toxic stormwater until it can be properly dealt with and disposed of. These reliable reservoirs give you more peace of mind that your community will be safe even after an extreme weather event has ended.
Benefits of TrapBag
There are many reasons why TrapBags are the superior method of emergency flood protection.
- Quick to deploy: The interconnected, accordion-style structure of TrapBag barriers make them incredibly quick to place around a structure, road, seawall, or riverbank, a necessary feature of reliable flood protection.
- Easy to install: Some forms of flood protection require heavy machinery to be installed, which adds both time and money to the time-sensitive process. TrapBags can be placed and filled with a small crew.
- Versatile: TrapBags are versatile both the type of fill they can hold and the kinds of structures they can create and support. Sand, concrete, and washed gravel can fill TrapBags, suiting whatever your project needs. Because they can create so many varieties of protective barriers, TrapBags are the superior choice in areas like Louisiana, where dams, levees, diversion barriers, and seawalls can all mitigate flood damage.
- Durable and dependable: The shape and engineered structure of TrapBags makes them very reliable. Even if one individual cell is compromised, the leak-proof design ensures the rest hold strong, providing protection against flooding and debris.
- Affordable: If you believed sandbags were the best method of flood control, we are here to let you know that TrapBags are not only more effective but also more affordable. TrapBags use 40% less fill than traditional sandbags—a single 100ft section of 4ft high TrapBags replaces around 8,000 sandbags. That is a lot of savings!
More Peace of Mind in Flood Protection
Keep Louisiana safe from natural disasters with TrapBag barriers. Learn more about TragBags today by sending us a message. If you are a homeowner seeking a durable flood protection method, start your order of TrapBag barriers now.
