Footnote
(Note) (Source: Japan Meteorological Agency website,
https://www.data.jma.go.jp/cpdinfo/extreme/extreme_p.html)
Waterproofing Measures to Reduce the Risk of Flood Damage to Buildings
Sanwa Shutter Corporation
Industry: Manufacturing
| Publication date | January 25, 2022 (Posted on July 6, 2022) |
|---|---|
| Sector | Natural Disasters / Coastal Areas |
Company Overview
For over 60 years since its establishment, Sanwa Shutter Corporation has been supporting towns and lifestyles by providing a wide range of metal fittings mainly for openings including shutters, doors, partitions, toilet booths, and automatic doors.
Our mission is to “offer products and services that provide safety, security, and convenience to further contribute to the prosperity of society.” We are actively engaged in the development of “disaster prevention products” to protect human lives from natural disasters such as earthquakes, typhoons, and torrential rains, which have become increasingly severe in recent years.
Climate Change Impacts
Due to climate change in recent years, the number of heavy downpours with rainfall exceeding 50 mm per hour has been increasing. The average annual frequency for the 10 years up to 2020 reaches 334 times, which is approximately 1.5 times higher compared to the 10 years up to 1985. In large cities with many subways and underground shopping areas, water immediately flows into the underground floor when the ground level is flooded, causing extensive damage. Even in regular buildings, many important facilities such as electricity rooms, machine rooms, and data server rooms are located in the basement floor. If they become submerged, the building will lose a major part of its functionality along with power outages, making waterproofing extremely important from the perspective of BCP.
Adaptation Initiatives
Since 2014, we have been developing and selling waterproof shutters, doors, and other waterproof products under the name of Water Guard Series, to address the urban flooding that has been occurring frequently in recent years, such as torrential rains and river flooding. (Figure 1)
We respond to water-related disasters with a wide variety of products that can be installed for various purposes and openings, including shutters with fire/smoke-proof properties in addition to its waterproof property that can also be used for managing purposes under normal conditions, doors that can withstand submersion up to 3 m high, removable waterproof panels and simple waterproof sheets that can be easily carried around and requires no construction work. (Figures 2~4)
Effects / Expected Benefits
For waterproof shutters and doors, the performance is clearly specified by the JIS standards, and we offer a lineup of products with the industry's top-level performance evaluation. In the occurrence of a large typhoon or torrential rain, we will contribute to the society by easily, quickly, and safely preventing buildings from flooding, thereby enhancing the safety of infrastructure and society.
