Flood Emergency Response Plans (FERPs)

A Flood Emergency Response Plan (FERP) is a written emergency plan that includes what action should be taken before, during and after a flood event to help avoid confusion and reduce the risk of injuries and property damage. 

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Local Authorities such as Councils may require FERPs to support the overland flow studies, flood reports, or flood impact assessments to ensure a detailed plan is in place in case of a flood emergency.

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A FERP generally includes;

• Evacuation route to a suitable location above the Probable Maximum Flood (PMF)

• Description of flood behaviour and expected depth of floodwater at the site and along the evacuation route for 1% Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) flood and PMF events

• Specific trigger heights linked to the nearest river gauges (where available) for flood warnings and the evacuation route cut-off times linked to the gauge heights

• Specific triggers for site specific flood warning devices (rainfall gauges or water level measurement devices)

• A description of the specific flood inundation at the site and the surrounding area including flood depths, direction of flow, velocities, hazard and relevant vulnerabilities including detailed flood maps

• Consider the needs of the elderly, disabled or vulnerable on site

• How vehicle access will be affected by flood (for example, shallow floodwaters can be hazardous for small vehicles)

•  Flood may happen at any time of the day and may cause disruptions to electricity, internet and phone lines, the plan should consider appropriate measures to manage any disruptions and medical emergencies. 

• The local emergency authorities must be consulted when preparing FERPs, the local emergency response authority during floods is the SES (State Emergency Service) in NSW

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Not all floods will be subject to the same rate of rise, as the rate of rise depends on the duration and intensity of the rainfall producing the flood and the conditions of the catchment prior to the flood, i.e. if it has rained recently then there may be less available storage in the catchment system thus producing flood with a faster rate of rise.

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Flooding from overland flows is typically short duration compared to mainstream flooding from the
river. During a major overland flow flood event, significant overland flows can be expected within 5-10 minutes of the start of the rainfall. Whereas riverine type floods have a slower rate of rise it may take over 6 hours for the flood to reach to peak levels. Depending on flood behaviour different emergency responses and strategies are implemented.

 

Shelter in place (SIP), sometimes referred to as vertical evacuation, is moving to a location within the building which is above the reach of the PMF (Probable Maximum Flood). SIP is becoming a more common option where standard evacuation may not be available due to the significant flood hazard outside the building.

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Flood Protect's highly qualified engineers will provide high quality FERPs to satisfy relevant regulations and develop safe and reliable emergency plans.