#127: April Fools Day When Flood Protection Becomes a Joke

0:00So the big challenge is how can house owners like you and me get a flat free home? How can business managers like you and me get a flat free company? And how can public servants provide flat free, critical infrastructure and livable cities? Hello and welcome to Flat Protection Secrets. Great to have you here again and whether you are a regular listener or joining us for the first time today and since today is April Fool's Day, I thought we do something a little different. Let's talk about flat protection but from a slightly more humorous angle because sometimes

1:03what people do in real life is almost hard to believe. Let me take you to South East Asia. Home owner wanted to protect the house against heavy rain and flooding. Instead of using a proper flat barrier, he had a different idea. He bought large plastic sheets and some duct tape and every time heavy rain was coming, he taped the entire entrance from the outside, completely sealed. At least that's what he saw. The rain came, the water rose and within minutes the tape slowly started to peel off. One corner, then another and then suddenly the entire plastic sheet collapsed. The result? Water entered the house exactly where it was supposed to be protected. True story? Let's move from South East Asia to Europe and a small business owner had a basement that

2:11had flooded several times so he decided to improve the situation. His idea, he built a small wall in front of the entrance, a permanent concrete wall. He looked strong, it looked solid, there was only one small problem. He forgot one thing, the water still needed a way to go. So what happened the next time it rained, the water did not enter from the front, it came from the sides, from below, from the drainage system. And instead of solving the problem he had simply changed the direction of the flood. True story? Now let me tell you a story that sounds like a joke but unfortunately it is not. There was a business owner in Asia who had already experienced severe flooding. He lost machines, he lost inventory and his operations stopped completely so he decided to take action. But instead of using a proven system he wanted to be smart, he designed his own flood protection.

3:16He went to a local steel workshop and ordered every steel plates. So one meter high, one meter twenty wide, another one three meters wide. Then even they even cut into the floor to install a slot for the plates to slot them in. And into the wall. It looked impressive but it was extremely heavy. They needed eight people just to carry one element and because he wanted it to look perfect and to avoid rusting he chose to stay in the steel, very expensive, very heavy. And then the rain came, the water rose and the owner was confident this time we are protected. But then the first drop entered, then the second, then the third. And within minutes water was coming in as if there was no protection at all. And at the end of the day the building was flooded again. The only difference, he had spent tens of thousands of euros on a system that did not work.

4:22So is this an apron full joke? The three stories I told you before, number one with a duct tape, number two with a concrete wall number three with a steel plate. That sounds like a full joke right in April. No, this is reality and this is exactly the point. I'm always astonished when I hear these stories but that is what I learn, what I observe, what is told to me every day. So my golden nugget for you today at the at the world's full stay today, do not place the fool when it comes to your safety. Flat protection is not a do it yourself experiment. So be smart, use proven solutions, use certified systems rely on experience because when the water comes there is no second chance. Yeah, this is flat protection secrets. I'm Andreas Clipper and as always stay safe and flat free.

5:32I wish and hope for you that you made the right decisions when it comes to your personal flat protection. And if you enjoyed this episode please subscribe to this podcast channel if you haven't already. Now it only remains for me to wish you a good day, do something with it. Maybe until the next podcast episode I would be very happy to see you there. As always stay safe and flat free. Do Andreas Clipper and the whole flat expert team. That's it again with the new episode of Flood Protection Secrets. The podcast by Dr. Flood Andreas Clippy German engineer, book author and head of the Flood experts.

6:36What can Dr. Flood Andreas Clipper protect for you? Anytime? Worldwide? Contact us or just click through to triple wthefloodexperts.de slash bonus. World engineering, German quality, safe, flood protection secrets, the secrets you'll want to unfold. Don't forget your only one flat barrier away. Subscribe to the season and you'll never be late for an episode.