We, the living being, get devastated while facing natural calamities such as flooding. Let alone facing such situations, the thought itself induces traumatic experience for us. However, it seems, brilliant engineering effort can stop at least one natural calamity; flooding.
Take the case of city of Grein, Austria which used to suffer from devastating flood from Danube River until a few years back. Authorities quickly reacted by installing demountable or mobile flood walls to ensure the safety of the citizens.
Fantastic feature: Look how water is being prevented to enter the city
The system has been designed by a UK-based company called Flood Resolution Co. Ltd. The so-called mobile wall consists of two sub-systems: permanently built solid foundations with associated infrastructure and detachable mobile barriers.
The company elaborated, “The system is based on an underground wall, protecting an area against groundwater that rises simultaneously with the level of flood waters. The depth of the underground wall is based on a bedrock and subsequently determines the height of the barrier.”
This is the example of cutting edge technology
The underground wall is built with reinforced concrete and on the top, it is designed with elaborate mechanized wall fittings to keep the water out.
The wall looks mundane without floods
IBS Tehcnics who studies the system in detail, published a paper on the mobile wall and they pointed out that “the highest and most spectacular mobile flood wall was completed in December 2010 in Grein, with a total barrier height of 3.6 meters on a base wall that’s one meter high.”
This is how stop planks are placed between the columns to quickly install the wall
The paper further elaborated, “The system protects the land behind it to a flood level of 4.6 meters at the upstream end of the site — a height which is equal to the upper storeys of the adjacent properties.”
This is how the river is held back
Grein flood protection project was part of a greater project called Machland Dam project wherein six such sections of mobile walls were installed. The total project was completed on 25th August,2012. The real test of the mobile wall happened during monsoon, during June 2013. Because of its effectiveness it soon became famous.
You may be interested in the video below which shows how flooding is effectively being prevented.
Every Country should embrace this technology. People always talk about technology making us unsocial and mechanized but this application really brings out the humane face of the technology which is literally a lifesaver.
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Author: Technology and Beyond
