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With the Atlantic hurricane season upon us, flood risk, building damage and staff safety are real concerns to many facilities across America.
In 2022 alone, the U.S. experienced 10 hurricanes — with windspeeds exceeding 111 mph — with Texas and Louisiana included in the top 3 states most impacted by follow-up impacts.
Statistics reveal that 90% of natural disasters involve some kind of flooding — a risk that has become a growing concern for the chemical industry in recent years. As the severity and frequency of extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, storms and heavy rainfall, increases so does the risk to chemical facilities because of the potential to cause damage to equipment, infrastructure and the surrounding environment. This includes public health impacts, such as the contamination of soil and water resources, as well as exposure to toxic chemicals in nearby communities.
For example, in 2021, Hurricane Laura made landfall in the Gulf Coast as a Category 4 storm, causing severe damage to buildings storing trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCCA), resulting in a significant release. Due to the flammable nature of TCCA, when exposed to air and moisture, a fire was caused at the facility, and while no injuries were reported, there was a significant chlorine gas release into the environment.
This isn’t the first release caused by a hurricane event. In 2017, a plant in Crosby, Texas, experienced an organic peroxide decomposition, release and fire following the floods caused by Hurricane Harvey. In short, natural hazards pose a real risk to chemical facilities and their supply chain.
Types of floods that can affect chemical facilities
While hurricanes are often the origin of flash flooding for chemical facilities, they are not the only source. Chemical facilities are often located in low-lying areas near rivers and waterways. And, even if a facility is technically outside a hurricane risk zone, it can still be significantly impacted by other flood sources.
- Fluvial flooding occurs when watercourses cannot cope with the levels of water entering them from the surrounding catchments and are exacerbated when there are major rainfall events falling on already saturated ground.
- Coastal flooding is a result of stormy conditions coinciding with high tides. It is essential that not only the still water levels are considered but also wave overtopping, which can affect operations at facilities that are deemed to be protected from sea inundation.
- Pluvial flooding occurs when heavy rainfall overwhelms the drainage system capacities. It can result in water entry into buildings from roofs or sewage, simply due to poor maintenance or blockage.
- Groundwater flooding occurs when normal groundwater levels rise above the surface and is most common in locations with an underlying bed of rock or chalk. It typically follows heavy rains and can occur several days to weeks after heavy rainfall.
- Reservoir flooding, although less common, is still a viable flood source and results in rapid and significant levels of water release very quickly.
Understanding flood risk
Understanding flood risk is an important step in mitigating the potential impacts of floods on people, infrastructure and the environment. By understanding flood risk, we can identify potential hazards, develop effective mitigation strategies and improve emergency response planning.
Flood risk is determined by a combination of factors, including the likelihood of a flood occurring, the severity of the flood, and the vulnerability of people and infrastructure to the flood. Flood risk can be influenced by natural factors such as rainfall patterns, topography and land use, as well as human factors such as population density, infrastructure development and emergency planning.
Understanding flood risk requires a multidisciplinary approach that includes expertise in areas such as hydrology, meteorology, geology, engineering and emergency management. By combining these different areas of knowledge, we can develop a comprehensive understanding of flood risk and develop effective strategies for reducing the potential impacts of floods.
Effective flood risk management involves a range of strategies, including land use planning, infrastructure design, flood protection measures, emergency response planning, and public education and awareness. By taking a proactive approach to flood risk management, we can minimize the potential impacts of floods on our communities and help ensure the safety and well-being of all those affected by these natural disasters.
What information does your facility need?
The following covers the typical information that establishments should have for the identification of the hazard, determining vulnerability and consequences and management of the response.
Flood extent and sources of flooding:
- Flood data should include flood probability (return periods), flood depth, flood velocity, rate of onset of flooding and flood duration.
- It is critical that all potential flood sources are considered as part of a comprehensive flood study, including the impacts of localized flooding on plant and equipment. For example, water entry into electrical systems from roof drainage can result in loss of power.
- Up-to-date information is a necessity, such as site layout drawings that detail facility ground elevations, building floor levels and equipment levels.
Vulnerability review:
- Assess the impact of flood waters, addressing not just water immersion but also considering the effects from fast flowing waters, debris within the water and the potential for failure of structural elements from hydrostatic pressures. These reviews need to consider all systems and utility lifelines, covering the primary, backup and emergency systems.
- Assess the impact on utilities and safety critical equipment both on and off site, especially where response would be necessary from off-site emergency services. In a major accident, communication with internal safety systems and external emergency services will be essential; therefore, it is important to understand the impacts on communication and safety systems.
Mitigation and management:
- Mitigation can take place in the form of physical barriers to prevent water ingress, pumping systems to remove water as it enters an establishment, replacement of equipment that is vulnerable to water exposure with resilient flood proof equipment, and equipment relocations should all form part of a structured mitigation plan.
- This should consider the effects from the flood hazard but also consider the potential for failure of primary flood defenses. It should not simply be assumed that flood measures will not fail. The degree of flooding considered could be exceeded and as such the consideration of cliff edge effects should form an element of the process to determine what would happen.
Our approach to flood risk management
ABS Group has developed a three-phase approach to reducing risk and enhancing operational resilience against natural hazard risk such as flooding.
Step 1: Hazard exposure identification
Hazard exposure identification involves utilizing hazard mapping tools and catastrophe modeling to provide financial loss estimates for property damage and business interruption for single-site and aggregate losses. The hazard mapping provides a categorization of the hazard risk in an easy-to-understand high, moderate or low-risk format. It can include multiple natural hazards to help you understand the full extent of your facility's exposure.
Step 2: Facility vulnerability
Facility vulnerability helps you to understand the critical vulnerabilities of your facility. From supply chain reviews to facility vulnerability audits, understanding how your organization is vulnerable to natural hazards will be critical when establishing your risk mitigation strategies. A cost/benefit analysis can also help you to understand how certain changes to your facility could provide significant cost savings in the case of an event.
Step 3: Risk mitigation
Next, it is time to put the mitigation plans in place. This involves four key stages:
- Treat: Through detailed engineering design, independent design reviews and guidance document reviews, a treatment plan to lower the established risk can be developed.
- Tolerate: Managing your risk through training of personnel, emergency response planning and business continuity planning can help an organization to keep the risk low.
- Transfer: By providing your insurers with a Facility Vulnerability Audit Output Report, you can help to make sure your coverage is adequate.
- Terminate: By utilizing the hazard mapping provided in Step 1, you can remove the risk completely by performing a capital expense review to relocate your facility to an area with significantly reduced risk.
Proactive planning for flood risk management
Flood risk at chemical facilities is a serious concern that requires proactive management and planning. By implementing effective risk management strategies and collaborating with local stakeholders, chemical facilities can help reduce the potential for environmental and public health impacts resulting from flooding events, as well as protect their facilities and supply chain.
For more information, visit abs-group.com.
