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AquaFence's Clever Design for Anti-Flooding Barriers
How a Florida hospital stayed dry during the hurricane
As Hurricane Helene ravaged the southeastern United States, Tampa General Hospital managed to ward off flooding using this AquaFence system. Unlike sandbags, these barrier wall systems are reusable, and can be stored flat.
The design is simple, but ingenious: The more water they're keeping out, the stronger the structure becomes. That's because each component is L-shaped, braced diagonally with steel struts, and designed to be used with the bottom of the L pointed towards the water. As floodwaters rise, they weigh down on the bottom of that L, anchoring each component in place. The upright of the L cannot collapse, because it is held fast by the high tensile strength of the steel braces.
In this video released by the hospital, you can see how effective the 9-foot-tall barriers are:
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Comments
They adapted the idea from crowd barriers I think: https://www.prolyte.com/products/portable-stages/crowd-barriers. Same philosophy.
Still, people are different from water. I can imagine this works with calm water. But stormy waves?
Using an foldable ladder and multiple inflatable canoes.
Very neat. One question I have: Once you're totally surrounded by the barriers, how does anyone get in or out of the area?
my guess is they didn't plan to. likely did this to protect equipment and keep the place running for the patients who couldn't be transferred out easily, planning to hunker down with a limited staff to ride out the flood
By boat of course!