Safety Assessment Program Evaluator Student Manual

CA Emergency Mgmt. Agency Safety Assessment Program Evaluator Manual April 2011The house in Figure 6-14 was built on pillars, which allows for good air flow in normalconditions, and allows flood water to flow under the house in a flood. The water line on thishome is a few inches below the first floor level, so the flood water never entered the house oraffected the utilities. So, safety evaluation of this structure would include examining thefoundation pillars to make sure that they were sound, and that there has been no scouring orsettlement at the foundation pillars. Of course, this evaluation would be done only after all thewater drained away and the ground was dry. The water line indicates that the first floor framingbecame wet. If warping is not evident at the time of the safety assessment, the house could beposted INSPECTED. A note could be made about potential warping to be watched for on theplacard and the evaluation form.Photo courtesy FEMAFigure 6-15 – Flash flood debris, 2001 West Virginia floodMud and other debris must be considered in safety assessments due to blocked doorways thatdeny access to buildings. In Figure 6-15, the mud and debris covers about half the door height.Access is not fully available until the debris is removed. If an evaluation was done before thedebris was removed, the most likely posting would be RESTRICTED USE, with no access untilthe debris was removed.Flash floods and other swift water situations can cause significant structural damage to buildings.This type of flood is extremely hazardous to structures, especially if they are not anchored tofoundations or have unbraced cripple walls. The force of swift water striking an unanchoredstructure will not only take it off its foundation, but float it away downstream.197