An article in the New York Times details the story of Don Guckert, head of facilities at the University of Iowa, who travels the speaker circuit to share best practices put into place on campus since the 2008 flood of the Iowa River.
As flooding is becoming an increasing threat to states across the country, Guckert’s talks lay out lessons for disaster recovery and emergency management that may be helpful for other industry professionals.
Some of Guckert’s lessons include:
- Planning ahead to lay flood prevention supplies, such as sandbags, pumps and generators, before a crisis hits and demand is high.
- Placing flood barriers as part of the existing architecture, such as the one beneath the university’s current patio.
- Designing buildings to sit at higher elevations than necessary, without critical equipment or facilities sitting at the ground floor level.
Source:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/10/climate/iowa-floods-disasters-lessons-learned.html
