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In this article you will get an overview of different types of flood prevention so that you can make the best flood protection choice for you and your home. However, also pay attention to the special conditions of your flood situation , because not every protective measure protects against every type of flood . But don’t worry, if you weren’t aware of this before, you’ve come to the right place!
In other articles, we go into pretty much detail about what goes into the perfect flood defense, depending on your specific location. Feel free to read through the most important points again here.
If you don’t have time now, that’s of course not a problem either, in this article we will briefly go into the conditions for which certain flood prevention measures are made and where you should resort to alternatives.
flood prevention actions in Puerto Francisco de Orellana
El Coca (Orellana).- The Risk Management Secretariat (SGR), as the entity responsible for preventing and mitigating adverse events of a natural or anthropic nature, protects the safety of the population by coordinating actions against the heavy rains that have been reported in the last hours, which have caused flooding, and other emergencies in the city of Coca and part of the Amazon region of the country.
In a press conference convened by the Government of Orellana, the actions of the response entities in response to the events articulated through the Zonal Coordination 2 of the Secretariat of Risk Management (SGR) and the National Decentralized System were announced. of Risk Management (SNDGR).
The worst Climate Change Impacts in the United States according to an article published in Thehearus.com.
Climate change —which affects precipitation patterns and sea level rise—, socioeconomic changes, and subsidence (subsidence) are factors that have made cities along the coastline and river deltas vulnerable to flooding. The challenge now is to rethink how to prevent this situation.
The cities were designed at the time in a technical way for rain conditions very different from the current ones, indicates the director of the Center for Water and Sustainable Development of ESPOL (CADS), Luis Dominguez.
“The future confronts cities with new conditions, with conditions that were not designed. Places where we have so much rain and the system is not capable of handling it. In coastal cities and in river deltas, this problem is aggravated”, mentions the expert.
NEW DEVELOPMENT MODEL
As possible solutions to the scenario described above, the new global urbanism trends focus on development models where resilient streets are referred to. They are designs and adaptations that contribute to making the streets part of the city’s response to the changes that are taking place, based on green initiatives.
Here are five of these trends:
1) Green areas for infiltration.
It seeks to take advantage of green areas as infiltration areas. When the streets are impermeable, water accumulates, which is why the new trends aim to have streets with pervious concrete or removal of pavement in some spaces, to leave an open green area that becomes an escape valve for rainwater. Low-traffic areas, such as parking lots, may have a layer of this permeable material that allows water to penetrate to the subsoil.
2) Multifunctional green areas.
Taking advantage of public space by redesigning wide streets, for example three lanes, to convert them into one or two lane streets in coordination with the community. The objective is to enable embedded green spaces in cities, which help to improve the quality and temperature of the air (reducing the effect of heat islands). Also as a habitat for traditional trees, birds and other species.
3) Reservoirs .
Water parks that consist of spaces in which an unevenness is generated, so that they serve as a temporary reservoir in the event of a flood. A soccer field, for example, with a drop of two meters can become a swimming pool with a great capacity for water retention. Thus, the drainage systems do not collapse, preventing rainwater from arriving at the same time.
4) Water retention systems in homes.
Recovery of impervious spaces of the houses, which fulfill the function of sponges for water retention, through patios of earth or with urban gardens. In this way, water for irrigation is saved and the environment is cooled. Another option is vertical gardens that prevent water from drastically flowing into the street, since it is absorbed by the vegetation.
5) Care of drainage systems and rainwater.
It consists of promoting better waste management practices, which goes hand in hand with compliance with regulations. The objective is to avoid the presence of waste in rainwater systems. Respecting garbage collection schedules, proper handling of construction materials and waste oil from certain businesses such as lubricators are positive actions that ordinary citizens can contribute.
ESPOL PROJECTS TO THE FUTURE
ESPOL , in conjunction with the Dutch Cooperation and financing from the Municipality of Guayaquil , promotes a project to improve resilience against flooding in the Fabre’s Cordero parish of Guayaquil.
This parish was identified as one of the sectors most vulnerable to flooding in the city, due to its sociodemographic characteristics and its informal expansion. Being settled on mangrove soil, it is also susceptible to subsidence. Added to this is the lack of specific information on drainage networks in the area.
The plan has been implemented since the end of 2018 by ESPOL and a consortium of Dutch institutions made up of a multidisciplinary team from the Deltares Research Institute, the company Urbanistein and Rebel, with extensive experience in sustainable urban planning.
Researchers from ESPOL —which acts as the local project execution entity— conducted training in the Netherlands, accompanied by experts from Declares, for the construction of the computer model of floods in the Fibers Cordero parish.
On behalf of the polytechnic, the director of CADS, Luis Dominguez; the researchers MI jail Arias and Carlos Rodríguez from the Faculty of Engineering in Earth Sciences; and Heidy Rao from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
In addition, polytechnic students participated as part of their degree work and polytechnic graduates. Workshops were held with representatives of the different entities involved, as well as with neighborhood leaders from the parish.
Among the solutions studied by the Academy are the use of permeable pavement, generation of green areas, and use of the central lane of the Monrovia system so that it works with an infiltration principle. Reforestation projects in peripheral areas were also proposed. This includes the construction of mangrove walls, as a protection against the increase in the level of the tide; in addition to areas for recreational activities.
