Case study
When the owner of an independent boutique clothes shop took it over three years ago she was aware that it had flooded in the past and decided, in advance of any future floods, to make flood resilient adaptations so that when she did flood, the damage could be limited. The landlord was supportive and worked with her on the adaptations.
The property floods every few years and the case study demonstrates how money and energy can be saved by putting PFR solutions in place, rather than waiting for a devastating flood to invest in resilience.
The flood barrier and the absorbent sandbag alternatives have made the property more resilient. They drastically limit the amount of water that can get in the property. This speeds up the cleaning process and limits the damage to the property.
The porcelain and waterproof grout floor as well as the waterproof plaster on the walls can withstand the flood water and the shop can be steam cleaned easily. The products are kept safe from the water in containers or higher up, meaning the shop does not face significant damage or losses following a flood.
This has had a great impact on the business. When flooding was experience in this area, stock was not damaged and the store reopened the next day, unlike some of the neighbouring shops which were out of business until repairs could be made.
“The flood in February 2020 came very quickly. Shop workers heard the flood siren. They dashed to the shop to put the flood barrier and plastic sacks in place and moved all the stock higher up. The shop worker knew exactly what to do. The owner felt extremely lucky compared to others as there was only around 10cm (4”) of water in her shop. When the water receded, she used a large squeegee to clean the sludge from the floor. She steam cleaned the floor and was able to open her shop the very next morning! The shop owner strongly believes that more investment should be made into recoverable repair and thinks it is money well spent.”
Being prepared for potential flooding is an important element of being flood resilient as it leads to approaches to use PFR measures. It’s about understanding your flood risk, now and for the future.
