The Flood Barrier is an advanced engineering building in Civilization VI: Gathering Storm. It is built in the City Center.
- Effects:
- Constructed automatically around each Coastal Lowland tile belonging to the city; it protects them from flooding when sea level rises due to Climate change.
- Initial
Production cost and per turn maintenance are variable based on the number of Coastal Lowland tiles in this city and the current sea level. The formula is (80 x coastal lowland tiles) + (80 x coastal lowland tiles x flood level). - If constructed after some of the city's tiles have been flooded, those tiles can be repaired in full and used again, along with anything that's on them. Does not affect submerged tiles as these are lost forever and cannot be recovered.
- Will not be pillaged if the city is captured.
- Restrictions:
- Must be built in a city with one or more Coastal Lowland tiles.
- Cannot be Purchased with Gold.
Strategy[]
This building is a must-have for any city on the coast whose seashore doesn't consist of predominantly highland tiles (either Hills or such that aren't defined as Coastal Lowland). For such cities land is already scarcer than for inland cities, and having some of that land submerged in the later stages of the game is no fun at all, especially if the submerged tiles contain 
District or wonders. Climate change is practically inescapable after the Atomic Era, and it can ruin your strategic goals for any coastal city. Granted, you can salvage some lost land with late game improvements such as the Seastead, but the usefulness of coastal tiles can rarely match that of land tiles.
The catch when building Flood Barriers is that their price goes up along with climate change! Sometimes the price will practically double in the course of the construction (if the climate keeps worsening) and you will witness a never-ending project bogging down your production queue forever. And the only way to construct a Flood Barrier instantly is if you're the Suzerain of Valletta. This is why it's advisable to build Flood Barriers as soon as you're able, instead of waiting until the water rises to your chin. You can, however, use Military Engineer charges to aid in construction, each providing 20% of the 
Production cost.
The Production cost of the Flood Barrier depends on the number of coastal lowland tiles within the city borders, but there are a couple of ways to reduce it. Do not purchase lowland tiles before building the barrier; they will still be protected if incorporated later. Allocating the tiles to a different city will also decrease the cost of building the improvement. If they are later swapped back to the city that has built the Flood Barrier, they will be protected from flooding.
Allowing a City Center to flood or purposefully settling on a flooded tile will prevent the construction or repair of any City Center building, including Flood Barriers.
Civilopedia entry[]
There is a long history of constructing earthworks to prevent flooding of low-lying habited areas. Levees to contain rivers have been built almost as long as urban centers have existed. Sea walls prevent the sea from inundating populated areas along the coast under most circumstances. These engineering feats are effective and can be long lasting if maintained—and they must be maintained or they can fail catastrophically.
The Pondicherry sea wall was built in 1735 and protected that city from a tsunami in 2004 that caused intense devastation in many other areas in the Indian Ocean.
Trivia[]
- The Flood Barrier's model is based off the Oosterscheldekering.
