Video: A Barrier Wall for Flood-Prone Regions
David Wagman | September 20, 2017A Movable Barrier Floodwall System from Los Angeles-based RSA Protective Technologies could help protect life and property in high- risk flood areas with a retractable concrete barrier wall that can be deployed remotely or manually in around three minutes.
The company says the flood wall can withstand forces up to a Category 5 hurricane and can be customized for flood prevention applications from 3 to 20 feet high. When not in use, the barrier is retracted into an underground concrete housing.
The barrier system has been designed using FEMA's hydrostatic, hydrodynamic, impact and wave action loads.
Features include a zero-leakage wet side/dry side plumbing discharge back into the flood zone. Concrete floodwalls and concrete foundations ensure stability under extreme conditions. The system is designed to last over 100 years with annual maintenance.
Rick Adler, inventor, founder, president and CEO of RSA says that despite "tremendous human cost and over $300 billion in flood related damages in the last three decades and now potentially $300 billion more, little investment has been spent on prevention."