news from the BRE Group
published: 4/6/2013
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New guidance on protecting homes from flooding
Two new publications that explain how homes can be made more resilient to flooding using new technologies are being launched in Birmingham today. Entitled Six steps to property level flood resilience, one has been written specifically for property owners and one for local authorities and professionals.
“As the severe flooding currently afflicting areas of the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria show, homes and businesses in flood risk areas can’t always rely on conventional flood defences,” says Stephen Garvin of BRE, who managed the EU-funded project that developed the new publications. “We need the next generation of flood resilience technologies now – smart systems with sensor technology, automatic control, innovative materials and high levels of performance.”
The guidance documents were prepared as part of the SMARTeST project, which has developed innovative smart technologies and products that can improve flood resilience in towns and cities. Ten European research institutes collaborated on the project to produce cost effective measures that can be used by individuals and communities to protect their homes. SMARTeST has focused on retrofitting the new technologies to buildings and/or through community-wide flood resilience systems.
The publication for property owners provides guidance on the correct installation and maintenance of technologies that can increase their properties’ ability to cope with floods – or limit the damage. This will often allow owners to return to their properties much more quickly than if they’d had no protection.
The guidance for local authorities and professionals focusses on making flood resilience technologies, particularly at property and neighbourhood scales, part of an overall flood risk management strategy.
Both publications will be made freely available on the National Flood Forum website and the SMARTeST project website over the next few weeks. For further information on their availability, email Stephen Garvin at garvins@bre.co.uk
The SMARTeST Project partners are:
- BRE, UK
- Technical University of Hamburg (TUHH), Germany
- Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment (CSTB), France
- University of Manchester (UNIMAN), UK
- University of Athens (NKUA), Greece
- Dion Toumazis & Associates (CYT), Cyprus
- Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (ENPC), France
- Technical University of Delft (TUD), Netherlands
- Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UMP), Spain
- Leibniz Institute of Ecological and Regional Development (IOER), Germany
For more information on the SMARTeST project see the web site www.floodresilience.eu or contact Linda Mckeown, BRE tel 01923 664569, email mckeownl@bre.co.uk
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