Webinar
Webinar
2026-2027 El Niño: California Impacts and Strategies for Flood Resilience
California’s built environment will face significant flooding risks this coming winter in the face of potentially historic rainfall and elevated sea levels. The likelihood of a very strong El Niño, combined with increasingly damaging storms and coastal king tides, will test the flood resilience and waterproofing systems of our infrastructure and buildings in the coming months. As new regulations and building code requirements take shape, project teams and building owners must understand these risks and plan for both current and future flood-resilience needs. In this webinar, we aim to raise attendees’ awareness of the various flood-related hazards throughout California and share resilient design considerations for new and existing buildings exposed to flood hazards.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Understand the potential impacts of a very strong El Niño climate event on California’s built environment in the winter of 2026–2027.
- Identify flooding risks for coastal, riverine, and stormwater (pluvial) conditions.
- Discuss how evolving regulations and building code requirements may affect flood-resilience planning for new and existing buildings.
- Recognize flood-resistant design strategies for buildings exposed to significant flooding and severe storms.
Participants will earn 1.5 AIA CES Learning Unit (LU/HSW) for attending the seminar. Registration is free. Please note that space is limited – email events@sgh.com to join our waitlist if the session is closed when you register.
About the Speakers
Craig Allender | Managing Principal, Building Technology, San Francisco Bay Area
Craig Allender has extensive professional engineering experience. He specializes in investigating and designing major commercial, institutional, and residential buildings for waterproofing issues related to roofs, exterior walls, windows, plaza areas, and below-grade spaces. Craig consults with architects, contractors, and building owners to analyze and repair water intrusion problems in existing buildings and to prevent water intrusion problems in new construction. He has an active role in operations at SGH, managing a forty-five-person technical consulting group and leading our office in the San Francisco Bay Area. He supervises daily project-related activities, trains engineers on the complexities of building enclosure systems and design, and mentors direct reports on career paths related to project management and technical capabilities.
Cory Brett | Senior Project Manager
Cory Brett is experienced in structural engineering, including designing, investigating, and rehabilitating a wide range of structures, such as foundations and retaining walls, transportation-related structures (e.g., bridges, tunnels, and sign support structures), and buildings of all types. He also performs specialized work related to evaluating flood hazards and designing structures to mitigate flood risk, and monitoring and predicting vibrations in buildings (including assessing structural damage and human comfort). Cory currently serves as a co-chair of the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) Nonstructural Floodproofing Committee, which advocates for flood mitigation strategies at the site and building level.
Daniel Gibbons | Principal
Daniel Gibbons has professional engineering experience in the investigation and design of industrial, commercial, institutional, and residential buildings for waterproofing issues, including roofs, plaza areas, below-grade spaces, and exterior walls. He has consulted with architects, contractors, and building owners to analyze and repair water intrusion problems and construction defects. He is active in the industry, having published papers and presented on waterproofing topics and contributes to the ASTM International Committee D08 on Roofing and Waterproofing.
Matthew Gilbertson | Senior Technical Manager
Matt Gilbertson has diverse experience designing, investigating, and rehabilitating building and non-building structures. He specializes in evaluating flood hazards and designing structures to mitigate flood risk. His projects include designing buildings subject to flooding, evaluating existing facilities for flood risk, designing flood mitigation measures, and consulting on regulatory flood requirements. Matt is a member of the Flood Load and Future Conditions subcommittees for ASCE 7-28, “Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures,” and the committee for ASCE 24-30, “Flood Resistant Design and Construction.”