NEW TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATED TO RAPIDLY PLUG LEVEE BREACHES

摘要

Levee breaches are a national concern and can be an emergency management agency's worst nightmare. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates there are 100,000-mi of levees in the U.S., 85 percent of which are locally owned and maintained. Many are old with large unknowns in reliability and risk. On Dec. 15, 2010, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) successfully demonstrated an innovative technology to close levee breaches rapidly: the Portable Lightweight Ubiquitous Gasket (PLUG). PLUG could revolutionize flood response not only nationally, but also globally, saving countless lives and billions of dollars in property losses.