A flood wall is a primarily vertical artificial barrier designed to temporarily contain the waters of a river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 or other waterway which may rise to unusual levels during seasonal or extreme weather events. Flood walls are mainly used on locations where space is scarce, such as cities

City

A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 or where building levee

Levee

A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...

s or dikes would interfere with other interests, such as existing buildings, historical architecture or commercial exploitation of embankments.

Flood walls are nowadays mainly constructed from pre-fabricated concrete elements.
Flood walls often have "flood gates" which are large openings to provide passage except during periods of flooding, when they are closed.
As flood walls mostly consist of relatively short elements compared to dikes, the connections between the elements are critical to the failure of flood walls.

The substantial costs of flood walls can be justified by the value of commercial property thus protected from damage caused by flooding

Flood

A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...

.
Flood walls are almost solely used in cities, notably:

• Cologne, Germany
• Nijmegen, the Netherlands
  Netherlands
  The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
  
  
• Deventer
  Deventer
  Deventer is a municipality and city in the Salland region of the Dutch province of Overijssel. Deventer is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, but also has a small part of its territory on the west bank. In 2005 the municipality of Bathmen Deventer is a municipality and city in...
  
  , the Netherlands
  Netherlands
  The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
  
  
• Kampen
  Kampen
  Campen or Kampen may refer:* Campen, Germany, a village by the Ems estuary, northwestern Germany, home of the Campen Lighthouse* Kampen, Germany, a municipality on the island Sylt, Germany* Kampen, Overijssel, a town in the Netherlands...
  
  , the Netherlands
  Netherlands
  The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
  
  
• Huntington, West Virginia
  Huntington, West Virginia
  Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...
  
  
• Portsmouth, Ohio
  Portsmouth, Ohio
  Portsmouth is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Scioto County. The municipality is located on the northern banks of the Ohio River and east of the Scioto River in Southern Ohio. The population was 20,226 at the 2010 census.-Foundation:...
  
  
• St. Louis, Missouri
  St. Louis, Missouri
  St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
  
  
• Louisville, Kentucky
  Louisville, Kentucky
  Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
  
  
• Cincinnati, Ohio
  Cincinnati, Ohio
  Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
  
  
• Paducah, Kentucky
  Paducah, Kentucky
  Paducah is the largest city in Kentucky's Jackson Purchase Region and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Ohio River, halfway between the metropolitan areas of St. Louis, Missouri, to the west and Nashville,...
  
  
• Morgan City, Louisiana
  Morgan City, Louisiana
  Morgan City is a city in St. Martin and St. Mary parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 12,404 at the 2010 census....
  
  
• New Orleans, Louisiana
  New Orleans, Louisiana
  New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
  
  
• Richmond, Virginia
  Richmond, Virginia
  Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
  
  .
• Williamson, West Virginia
  Williamson, West Virginia
  Williamson is a city in Mingo County, West Virginia, USA, along the Tug Fork River. The population was 3,414 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Mingo County, and is the county's largest and most populous city. Williamson is home to Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College...
  
  
• South Williamson, Kentucky
  South Williamson, Kentucky
  South Williamson is an unincorporated town in the Appalachian Mountains of northeastern Pike County, Kentucky, borders with West Virginia. It is separated from Williamson, West Virginia by the Tug Fork River. The town is located 23 miles east of Pikeville, Kentucky and 28 miles southwest of...
  
  
• Woodland, Washington
  Woodland, Washington
  Woodland is a city in Clark and Cowlitz counties in the U.S. state of Washington. Most residents live within Cowlitz County, in which the majority of the city lies. It is part of the 'Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area'...
  
  
• Grand Forks, North Dakota
  Grand Forks, North Dakota
  Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 52,838, while that of the city and surrounding metropolitan area was 98,461...
  
  
• East Grand Forks, Minnesota
  East Grand Forks, Minnesota
  -K-12:The East Grand Forks School District enrolls over 1,000 students and operates two elementary schools , Central Middle School, and East Grand Forks Senior High School. There are also two private Christian schools. Sacred Heart School is a Roman Catholic elementary, middle, and high school...
  
  

In September 2005, following Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

, New Orleans, Louisiana, was substantially flooded after its system of levees and flood walls failed due to soil conditions and poor design

Levee failures in Greater New Orleans, 2005

In 29 August 2005 there were over 50 failures of the levees and flood walls protecting New Orleans, Louisiana, and its suburbs following passage of Hurricane Katrina and landfall in Mississippi. The levee and flood wall failures caused flooding in 80% of New Orleans and all of St. Bernard Parish...

.

External links

• DeltaWorks.Org Flood Barriers project in the Netherlands