47.5 MB - The Whole Building Design Guide

Figure 4-14:Damaged computernetwork equipment atHancock Medical Center4.2.11 Nonstructural and OtherSystemsNonstructural systems, among others, include interior non-loadbearingwalls, ceilings, and floors. In hospitals flooded with stormsurge, floors were destroyed and gypsum board walls were soaked.At Hancock Medical Center the water level reached 3 feet. Thehospital must replace all the flooring material, rewire the outlets,and replace the wall sheathing at a level about 2 feet above thehigh water mark (see Figure 4-15).In many hospitals humidity buildup damaged floor and ceilingtiles. Touro Infirmary had to replace 60,000 square feet of tileflooring and all of the ceiling tiles in the hospital because of humiditydamage. The loss of air-conditioning at West JeffersonMedical Center caused the buildup of humidity in the air, leadingto water condensation on terrazzo floors, making them veryslippery.Security was a major issue for most New Orleans hospitals. Membersof the community naturally sought the hospital for shelterwhen their homes were destroyed. When the water rose, peopletrapped in the city followed the water’s edge to the Touro Infir-OBSERVATIONS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF CRITICAL FACILITIES4-23