Safety Assessment Program Evaluator Student Manual

CA Emergency Mgmt. Agency Safety Assessment Program Evaluator Manual April 2011In Figure 6-16, a garage shed was swept away and found left resting on a fence downstreamsomewhere. This building likely was just sitting on sleepers and was never attached to afoundation, so when the flood came, the shed did not stand a chance. The building is a collapsehazard in its present situation, so it should be posted UNSAFE.Figuring out the address (for the placard and evaluation form) for a building that drifted awayfrom its proper location is next to impossible. In such cases, the best a SAP evaluator can hopefor is to use a global positioning system (GPS) unit to find the latitude and longitude for thebuilding in its present location. If there is a personal item attached to the shed, such as an oldlicense plate, the SAP evaluator can put that information in the Comments section of theevaluation form, and perhaps that will help locate the owner and the shed‟s original location.In Figure 6-17, this home came to rest on top of a vehicle. The vehicle is much more prone tobeing moved around than the house it, so it must have been stopped in the flood flow by someobstruction. Then, as the water level dropped, the floating house landed on top of it. It isunknown, though unlikely, that the house belongs with the vehicle. There is no doubt that thehouse would be posted UNSAFE, as the old house was certainly not designed for partial supportin this manner, and is therefore a collapse hazard.This house would at least have a number on it, though the street it came from remains unknown.Again, a GPS unit would be useful to pin down at least where the house is presently located.Short of that, noting the house‟s present location with nearby landmarks would be good to do.Photo courtesy Raymond Lui SEAFigure 6-18 – Floated home with post-tensioned concrete slab, 2005 Hurricane Katrina199