47.5 MB - The Whole Building Design Guide

Office records and police files: When facilities are located in floodpronespace, valuable records may be lost. Although expensive,some recovery of computerized and paper records may be possiblewith special procedures (see Figure 2-21).Health care equipment and laboratory materials: Most medical andhealth care equipment cannot be cleaned and restored to safefunctioning, and would need to be replaced. Depending on thenature of laboratory materials and chemicals, complete disposalor special cleanup procedures may be required.Kitchen goods and equipment: Floodwaters can dislodge appliancesthat can float and damage other equipment (see Figure 2-22).Stainless steel equipment generally has cleanable surfaces that canbe disinfected and restored to service. Because of contamination,all food stuffs must be discarded.Vehicles associated with critical facilities: If left in flood-prone areas,fire engines, police cars, ambulances, and other vehicles requirereplacement or cleaning to be serviceable and may not be functionaland available for service immediately after a flood.Figure 2-21:Medical records saturatedby floodwatersSource: Hancock MedicalCenterMAKING CRITICAL FACILITIES SAFE FROM Flooding2-53