英国保险公司协会（ABI）呼吁一个新的针对洪泛地区房屋发展的防洪力认证计划，英国混凝土中心对此表示支持。
谈到最近在西班牙的巴塞罗那举行的世博会二氧化碳会议，ABI的总干事Stephen Haddrill呼吁新的认证来给予人们对财产抵御水灾能力的信心。
混凝土中心房屋和建筑部负责人Guy Thompson说，“到2020年政府要建三百万新家园，由于这些新家园中的许多都在被认定为有洪水风险的区域，对此这种认证将是极其有益的” 。他还说“这将使购房者对他们新家园的防洪能力作出明智的选择，并使保险公司能提供更有竞争力的洪水保险价格” 。
预测气候变化的影响之一是，频繁的倾盆大雨的增加会增多洪水事故的发生，如萨默塞特县。因此，由建筑材料所决定的防洪力等级和结果将是关键问题，因为提供更高水平的防洪力，可以尽量减少水灾损失和翻新时间，从而使人们早日重新居住。
与轻质建筑相比，砌石和混凝土的家园提供了更高的防洪力等级。 他们吸水少，不象纸质石膏板那样需要更换。 而让安装在墙上的电器插座高于洪水线和给砌筑和混凝土涂上防水涂料能进一步提高防洪力。
“混凝土与砌体不翘曲，不腐锈，所以其结构完整性不会受到水灾的损害。此外，他们能够快速地变干” 混凝土中心房屋和建筑部负责人Guy Thompson说， “防洪力认证将使业主，开发商和保险公司受益”。
附英文：
Concrete Industry Welcomes Calls for Flood Resilience Kitemark
The Concrete Centre has welcomed the call from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) for a new flood resilience kitemark for housing developments planned for flood plains.
Speaking at the recent EXPO CO2 conference in Barcelona, Spain, Stephen Haddrill, ABI's director general called for the new kitemark to give confidence in a property's ability to withstand a flood.
"With the Government wanting to build 3 million new homes by 2020, many of them in areas of recognised flood risk, such a kitemark would be extremely useful", said, head of housing and architecture at The Concrete Centre. "It would enable house buyers to make an informed decision over the flood resilience of their new home and allow insurers to be better placed to offer competitively-prices flood insurance".
One of the predicted impacts of climate change is that of more incidents of flooding arising from the increase in frequency of sudden torrential downpours such as that experienced in Somerset. As a consequence, the level of flood resilience offered by building materials and finishes will become more of an issue as those offering a higher level of resilience can minimise the flood damage and the time taken to refurbish and so allow earlier reoccupation.
Compared to lightweight construction, masonry and concrete homes offer a high degree of flood resilience. They absorb less water and may not require any finishes, such as plasterboard, to be stripped off and replaced. Flood resilience can be further improved by placing electrical sockets mid-way on a wall, above the flood line, and sealing the masonry and concrete with a waterproof coating or render
"Concrete and masonry homeswill not warp, rot or rust and so their structural integrity will not be compromised as a result of flooding. Furthermore, they can quickly dry out", said Guy Thompson, head of architecture and housing at The Concrete Centre. "The availability of a flood resilience kitemark would benefit home owners, developers and insurers."
