FEMA Pushes to Waterproof Flood Prone Buildings

Short of moving your building or raising it up above flooding, the best approach to take to reduce storm, flooding and natural disaster losses is to simply use a proven coating to wind and waterproof the surfaces in the path of destruction.

In my last blog, I mentioned where FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) recommended waterproofing the ground floor of buildings that are in the path of natural disasters. This is taking defensive action to protect buildings and their valuable contents. I wanted to elaborate on this and explain how small simple defensive steps can make a big difference.

Determine how much flooding you want to protect against and where you want to apply waterproofing. The entire outside of the building including the roof can be turned weather resistant. Keep in mind that strong wind/weather events and flooding are temporary occurrences as with storms that pass and flood waters that reside. What you will be looking to accomplish is that the surfaces that will require storm and flood resistance receive a product that is proven to hold up for just such an event. So, the measures taken can be simply accomplished with the right green, easy to apply coatings.

An image on top shows the house at the left without a defensive coating is easily submerged into the water while the other was sealed with a protective coating that is designed and proven for weatherproofing and waterproofing like a boat.

With the correct application of the right coatings, you can quickly turn a vulnerable building into a structure that can defend against the onslaught of strong weather events and natural disasters. The simple idea is to take a surface that has holes, seams, gaps and openings and quickly and turn it into a seamless, monolithic, continuous membrane that will not allow the penetration of either wind or water.

This CANNOT be accomplished by typical paints. The right green coating with a proven track record holding up as a 20-year membrane restoring roofs is ideal for this situation. The right coating should also be able to safely seal in hazardous materials such as Asbestos, Lead-Based Paint, PCBs, etc. This is important so the release of these materials is minimized during strong storm events.

The links below show that proactive measures need and should be taken to turn surfaces storm resistant. This action will minimize costly destruction and prevent damage.

FEMA - Floodplain Management Ordinances: https://www.fema.gov/floodplain-management-ordinances The purpose of this page is to define Floodplain Management Ordinances, a commonly used term in floodplain management.

FEMA - Floodplain Management Requirements: https://www.fema.gov/floodplain-management-requirements The purpose of this page is to define floodplain management requirements.

FEMA- P-936 Floodproofing Non-Residential Buildings - WBDG https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DHS/femap936.pdf

Application of a waterproof membrane on the exterior (positive side) of a wall (left) and interior first floor and flood damage-resistant materials. Applied to the interior of a wall or floor where the water pushes against the surface.

FEMA: Dry Floodproofing Measures. Above-ground walls can be sealed https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/06dabddadc3887f91906172d863749ab/P-936_sec3_508.pdf

NFIP - (National Flood Insurance Program) Floodplain Management Requirements, : https://www.floods.org/index.asp?menuid=388

The responsibility for reducing flood losses is shared by all units of government-local, state and federal-and the private sector.

The right protective, flood damage resistant coating can reduce the odds of overall destruction that would cause expensive tear outs and replacement.