Emergency shelters for personnel

8 February 2023
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When there is an emergency, many companies leave a small team of staff on the location. It is important to have safe shelters for personnel in an easily accessible and non-floodable area of the site so that personnel can move to a safe place quickly if necessary.

• Applicable to land, buildings, factories, installations, infrastructure and equipment;
• Crisis management;
• Permanent measure;
• Substantial investment;
• Prevents casualties;
• Applicable at flood depth starting at approx. 50 cm.

Emergency shelters for personnel

Evacuation route

An evacuation route (preferably elevated) allows personnel to evacuate safely in the event of a flood.

Vertical evacuation

Vertical evacuation means moving to an elevated location in the building or on the site. This is an important way of getting people to a safe place quickly in the event of a flood. It is essential for these higher floors to be easily accessible for everyone.
It may be necessary to make additional provisions for this such as installing a skylight to reach the roof, or adding a raised mezzanine floor in industrial buildings. Provide emergency kits on the dry storeys.

Shelter building

Designated buildings can serve as shelters. They can house the personnel of companies who do not have a dry floor of their own. An elevated evacuation route allows people reach the shelter building even during a flood.

Elevated location outdoors

An elevated location outdoors can serve as a refuge where people can stay safely. It is important for these elevated locations to be easily accessible and not to be closed (even at night).

Back to the overview.

You can take these measures to improve your flood protection. The focus here is on generic descriptions of the measures in question. If you have questions about applying the measures on your site, please contact the Flood Risk Management Team.

No rights can be derived from the measures. See also the disclaimer.