Business Owner Saves Harbor Front Café from Historic Storm Surge with NOAQ BOXWALL
| Date & Location | October 20, 2023 in Faaborg, Denmark |
| Flood Threat | Coastal storm surge caused by Storm Babet |
| What Needs Protecting? | Commercial property – smokehouse and cafe |
| NOAQ Solution | NOAQ BOXWALL BW102-series |
| Protection Height | 100 cm |
| Application | Defence against rising sea water |
In October 2023, a historic storm surge struck the Danish town of Faaborg overnight, inundating most of the harbor front. Fast-rising sea levels threatened local commercial properties with severe damage and closures.
@Faaborg Røgeri Café
Faaborg Røgeri Café sits at the lowest geographical point on the Faaborg harbor front in Denmark. While the site can safely tolerate high-water levels up to 140 cm, any surge exceeding this baseline flows directly toward the property. This creates severe risks of property damage, inventory loss, and business closure.
The smokehouse operates intensely during the summer season, usually opening daily at 11:00 AM. Towards late autumn, they scale back operations for a seasonal closure.
The café has faced a history of flood threats from increased storm surges:
@Faaborg Røgeri Café
The 2017 Surge (+168 cm): Sea levels rose to 168 cm above normal for 10 consecutive hours. The business owner and her team constructed a barrier of 70 massive sandbags—each weighing one ton—and deployed heavy industrial pumps. While the property survived, it sustained significant damage.
@Faaborg Røgeri Café
The 2019 Surge (+160 cm): During this storm event, the café deployed a 70-meter water-filled tube barrier. Although the property was protected, the operation revealed critical logistical and protection vulnerabilities.
Saving the property in 2017 and 2019 took a lot of physical work and logistical costs. We realised that relying on brute strength, luck, and thousands of tons of sand and water filled tubes was completely unsustainable for our long-term business survival.
Line Klivager, Owner of Faaborg Røgeri Café
The Flood Protection Need - Sustainable, Efficient, and Reliable Temporary Flood Barrier
Faaborg Røgeri Café needed a sustainable, efficient, and reliable temporary flood barrier that eliminates the heavy physical labor and high logistical costs of past systems. Having previously relied on grueling, vulnerable methods like 70 one-ton sandbags or a 70-meter water tube, the owner requires an easily deployable solution for long-term business survival whenever storm surges breach their safe baseline.
@Dansk Fugtstop
The Mitigation Solution: Simple, Fast, Tool-Free Mobile Flood Protection
To address the intensive manual labor and logistics hassle of past methods, the business invested in 100 linear meters of NOAQ Boxwall BW102-series. The protection plan is to completely surround the café to provide full perimeter protection with this 1-meter-high mobile flood barrier system whenever a storm surge threat is imminent. The lightweight barrier can be deployed quickly without any tools, heavy machinery, or mass assistance. Additionally, the setup utilizes high-capacity pumps to handle any leak water and pump it back over the barrier, ensuring the property remains entirely dry.
@Dansk Fugtstop
The Outcome: Successful Perimeter Protection and Normal Operations
The Boxwall system was put to the test in October 2023 when a historic storm surge inundated the harbor overnight. Boxwall was rapidly deployed around the entire perimeter of the café by the owner herself. Floodwaters reached a depth of 98 cm against the 100 cm barrier, leaving just a 2 cm safety margin. Thanks to the full perimeter protection, the café remained dry and undamaged.
Post-Incident Recovery and Financial Protection
As soon as the floodwaters receded, the barriers were quickly dismantled, washed down, and stacked for storage. The café opened as normal for the final day of the season. This investment successfully protected the business from property damage and the severe economic losses associated with a prolonged closure.
The Deployment Numbers
| Protection Length | 100 linear meters |
| Number of Deployers | 2 – the owner and 1 colleague |
| Deployment Time | Under 1 hour (100 x faster than sandbags) |
| Sandbags Replaced | Approximately16,500 sandbags and 250 tons of sand |
We are super relieved that everything went our way. I think my café is now the driest place in the whole harbor. If we hadn't invested in that modern 1-meter system ahead of time, the entire smokehouse and cafe would have been completely destroyed by the 2023 surge. It didn't just save our building; it saved our livelihood.
Line Klivager, Owner of Faaborg Røgeri Café
@Dansk Fugtstop
The Impact Delivered for Faaborg Røgeri Café
NOAQ Boxwall delivered three critical operational impacts for the business:
- Asset protection: Prevented indoor flooding and property damage.
- Financial savings: Eliminated expensive cleanup and insurance claims.
- Business continuity: Avoided costly operational downtime entirely.
The Cost of Inaction for Waterfront Hospitality
For hospitality businesses in high-risk coastal and harbor areas, lacking rapid-deployment flood protection can lead to severe financial consequences:
- Property and Kitchen Damage: Saltwater coastal flooding can destroy foundations, outdoor and indoor dining areas, and kitchen assets.
- High Insurance Claims: Commercial European data shows the average flood insurance claim for a small business ranges from €80,000 to €115,000, and expenses can rise significantly if specialized commercial kitchen infrastructure is damaged.
- Inventory Loss and Premium Hikes: Coastal flooding destroys food, beverage, and operational stock. Because of their high-hazard locations, harbor businesses face commercial premiums that are thousands of euros higher than inland properties, and insurers frequently add strict exclusions following a single unmitigated flood event.
- Risk of Permanent Closure: Post-flood cleanup costs a typical coastal hospitality business up to 50 working days of trade. Consequently, over 40% of small businesses fail to reopen immediately after a severe flood, and an additional 25% close permanently within the first year of recovery.
Success Story Press Coverage
This success story has been documented in local news media outlet(s) on several occasions. You can read the original article(s) in full by clicking on the links below:
How NOAQ® Boxwall™ Works:
- The Bookend Principle: Uses the weight of rising floodwater to firmly anchor the barrier.
- Tool-Free Assembly: Connects quickly and easily without tools, allowing deployment in minutes.
- Built-In Flexibility: Enables curves, handles gradients, and can be adjusted after connection.
- Modular Adaptability: Can be configured to defend against rising water and divert fast flowing surface water
How NOAQ® Boxwall™ Can Help You:
- Up to 1-Meter Protection: Holds back up to 40 inches of water to protect infrastructure, property, and assets.
- Saltwater Resistant: Made from durable, high-grade polypropylene that withstands sea water and tidal surges without degrading.
- Rapid & Flexible: Deploys quickly and adapts easily to diverse urban environments and different flood threat situations.
- Deploy It Yourself: Quick and easy for a single person to deploy within minutes when a flood threat is imminent.
- Compact Onsite Storage: Stackable design makes it easy to store in a garage or warehouse until needed.
Let's Start Your Flood Preparedness Journey
Don’t wait for the next storm surge to test your emergency response and flood protection plan. Safeguard your business or property before the water starts to rise by contacting us today.