Get Dam Breach Detect to Increase the Safety of People and Assets
National Dam Safety Awareness Day is today, May 31, and unsurprisingly exists to champion best practices for dam safety. With this in mind, today is ideal for emergency managers and community leaders to learn how they can prevent dam failures and reduce impact in case of failure. See below to read about FEMA’s dam safety tips and CentrAlert technology that can immediately detect any dam breach.
The Benefits and Dangers of Dams
The United States alone contains more than 84,000 dams, which are a “vital part of the American infrastructure and provide economic, environmental, and social benefits.” Unfortunately, dams present risks as well.
For example, on May 31, 1889, the South Fork Dam in Johnstown, Penn., collapsed, killing more than 2,200 people. This was the worst dam failure in U.S. history and actually sparked the establishment of National Dam Safety Awareness Day. Dam failure can bring about loss of life, environmental damage, and asset destruction.
FEMA’s National Dam Safety Program
Thirty years ago, FEMA began the National Dam Safety Program to help prevent and ameliorate dam failures. To do this, FEMA instituted various programs aimed at increasing awareness among the public and dam staff. Such programs included public education, dam safety programs at the state level and staff dam safety training on the state and federal level. They also provided funding for dam research so that citizens and stakeholders could be better informed about dam safety.
- To learn more about the National Dam Safety Program, click here.
- To sign up for state dam safety assistance grants, click here.
CentrAlert’s Dam Breach Detect
If your community or site includes a dam and you want to protect your people and assets, CentrAlert can help. One of our Adaptive Intelligent Controls products, Dam Breach Detect, is designed to immediately detect dam leaks and notify workers so they can spring into action and local citizens so they can get to safety. A few minutes of ignorance regarding a dam breach could be the difference between life and death. Contact CentrAlert today to find out how you can protect your site or community with Dam Breach Detect.