Tampa General Hospital Installs Innovative Device to Combat Hurricane Milton’s Dangerous Flooding

Last month, Tampa General Hospital put up an AquaFence to protect their building from dangerous flooding from Hurricane Helene and the hospital hopes the barrier will continue to hold up for the incoming storm surge from Hurricane Milton.

Tampa General is located on Davis Islands in Tampa, Florida, an area that was almost completely underwater as a result of Hurricane Helene in late September.

Because they are located in such a hurricane-prone region, the hospital has made a concerted effort to fortify its AquaFence since its acquisition in 2019.

“Over the years, what we’ve been doing is identifying areas where we can maybe reinforce [the AquaFence] we’ve put things like resin and concrete anchors into the foundation of each the barriers so that really helped us last year,” Tampa General Hospital Chief of Staff Jennifer Crabtree told WESH 2 News , a television station serving the Orlando, Florida, area.

For both Helene and Milton, Tampa General has implemented an additional support strap on one side of the fence, “so as the wind speeds pick up we can have a stronger support system,” Crabtree shared.

Tampa General is a Level 1 trauma center so they will not be evacuating patients and instead will be sheltering in place.

“We have the infrastructure in place to be able to really protect the organization and the patients we are caring for inside,” said Crabtree.

What is an AquaFence?

An AquaFence is a flood and hurricane barrier that is used to protect buildings like Tampa General Hospital from severe water damage as a result of storm surges.

Available in heights from 2.5 ft to 9 ft, AquaFence FloodWalls are certified reusable up to 60 times and are 375 times more labor efficient than sandbags—one of several alternative flood protection techniques.

According to Crabtree, the AquaFence surrounding Tampa General Hospital required the manpower of upwards of 60 men and women and three full days to build.

The AquaFence is a self-stabilizing structure. The weight of the water it holds back is the key to its strength and ability to protect buildings from storm surges.

Will the AquaFence protect Tampa General during Hurricane Milton?

Recently downgraded from a Category 5 to a Category 4 storm, Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall on Florida’s west coast on Wednesday night or early Thursday morning .

The National Weather Service in Tampa Bay forecasts floods of 10 ft or greater and 145 mph winds. They declared Milton was "a historic storm for the west coast of Florida," and that the damage may be the worst residents have seen in over 100 years.

Despite the projected impact of Hurricane Milton, Tampa General staff is confident in AquaFence’s protection as well as other preparations the hospital has made.

“While AquaFence has proven effective in the past, it is just the first line of defense and one of many mitigation efforts we’ve implemented this week to safely continue care for our patients,” wrote Crabtree in a statement.

As an additional precaution, there will be no staff or patients on the hospital’s first floor . In the case that Milton does shut down access into or out of the building, Tampa General is supplied with more than 5,000 gallons of water and five days of necessary supplies such as food and linens.

Moreover, according to Crabtree, a 16,000-square-foot energy plant located 33 feet above sea level is expected to supply power should the hospital experience any outages.

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