As Milton approaches, flood-proof fences will face a major test in Tampa

For the second time in two weeks, Tampa General Hospital is preparing to keep the water at bay. Hurricane Milton is expected to arrive Wednesday and will test the hospital’s flood barrier.

It takes dozens of facility workers to install the nine-foot barrier made by AquaFence USA Inc. The same system went viral in a post on X when Hurricane Helene made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast. More importantly, it protected the region’s largest hospital from a record surge, a hospital spokesman said. Milton promises to be an even bigger test of the fence, which is designed to handle storm surges of up to 15 feet.

A growing number of companies are selling technologies that can be deployed quickly as corporations, governments and critical infrastructure adapt to a flood-prone world. Other flood barrier systems on the market implement water-filled dams, modular plastic and foam barriers, and permanent flood gates.

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“We used to convince people that you’re in a flood zone and that’s a risk to you,” said Thomas Briedis, president of the Norway-based company’s New Jersey subsidiary AquaFence. “But today there is no need for that.”

Tampa General is particularly vulnerable to flooding, sitting right on the waterfront of one of the most vulnerable cities in the US. But rising sea levels increase the risk of flooding everywhere along the coast, whether from storms or flooding on sunny days during high tide. And as Helene’s destruction in Asheville, North Carolina, makes clear, inland areas are also at risk of flooding from extreme rainfall as the planet warms.

AquaFence’s modular flood walls are made up of two panels about an inch thick that fold and unfold similar to a laptop. The horizontal panel is placed facing outwards, which helps to stabilize the entire system against flooding. “Because of this, you have a relatively lightweight, rapidly deployable system that you can set up very quickly,” Briedis said.

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Reusability is a selling point – AquaFence barriers are certified to be reused up to 60 times – and the system can be stored flat. AquaFence says companies such as JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc., as well as critical infrastructure such as US military bases and LaGuardia Airport use its system.

AquaFence began in 1999 in Norway, where it focused on addressing flooding caused by spring snowmelt. The company expanded into the U.S. in 2007 and had its “big break” after Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast in 2012, Briedis said. It now has flood protection systems—which range in price from $350 to $1,000 per linear foot—in use in more than 24 U.S. states, including areas prone to river flooding.

While older buildings, such as Tampa General Hospital, which is nearly 100 years old, may require flood barriers that surround the entire building, newer buildings are increasingly planning for flooding. This means they only need limited barriers to block glass or doors.

Climate change is increasing the risk and severity of flooding and excess rainfall — and development patterns are making matters worse by paving over vacant land that can absorb water, according to Kristina Dahl, senior climatologist at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “There really isn’t a single place, at least in the U.S., where you’re going to be completely free of extreme climate events in the future,” she said.

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