Dec 11, 2014

In Basingstoke, England, an area called Buckskin experienced major flooding. According to the BBC, the region was hitting by flooding on a disastrous scale, which led to the evacuation of 80 houses. The displacement wrought by the flooding immediately led the local city government to state that it would take action. But as the article pointed out, if monitoring efforts had been implemented earlier, they could have helped prevent the damage caused by the flood in the first place.

Better monitoring could have played an instrumental role
The flooding situation in Buckskin was not the result of a sudden disaster or something that couldn’t have been detected. Instead, it was the byproduct of high groundwater levels, which accumulated over time because the region did not have the properly robust drainage system in place to limit it. Thus, instead of being drained, the runoff water went and collected in the lowest areas, which built toward the major flooding that forced 80 people out of there homes.

But it’s not just a better drainage system that could have minimized or even prevented this situation from ever occurring. In addition, better monitoring of the region’s low-lying areas could have detected the water accumulation before it reached unmanageable proportions. The example of Buckskin illustrates how monitoring should work in conjunction with resources like strong drainage to keep a flood-prone area truly secure. This is a piece of advice that Iowa City is taking to heart.

Iowa City protects citizens with flood sensors
According to The Daily Iowan, a series of flood sensors were rolled out in Iowa City that help businesses to keep track of water flow – and therefore stave off flooding. One of the businesses benefiting from these sensors is New Pioneer Co-op, an enterprise whose base of operations sits next to a creek and is therefore susceptible to the impact of flooding.

“The creek is subject to flooding, and it’s usually a flash-flood situation,” said New Pioneer’s operations manager, Craig Albright, said of Ralston Creek. “The Iowa River is separate from Ralston Creek, so if the river is flooding, that doesn’t mean the creek is and [vice versa].”

But thanks to live wireless sensors installed by the Iowa Flood Center, Albright and the rest of his business doesn’t have to worry about not being prepared for the next potential flood situation. But the operation goes beyond just protecting the co-op. As part of this effort, there will be roughly 250 active sensors deployed by the Iowa Flood Center. These sensors aren’t only placed around flood-prone businesses, but also on bridges whose flooding could cause major traffic problems and even pose a threat to human safety. Thanks to the effort undertaken by the Flood Center, flooding issues have the potential to significantly diminish this season.

Pursuing a Firetide solution
Flooding poses a large threat to businesses. It can destroy goods, cause long periods of downtime, and even lead some companies to shut their doors. But wireless surveillance can go a long way toward monitoring flood-prone areas and preventing disasters. Look into a Firetide solution to prevent such a scenario.