[bowser]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Why don't you just lay the giant tarpaulin sheet on the floor and drive over it?

Yes, this is what I meant when I said the car should ideally be prepared in advance if it looks like it's going to flood

The lifting part is when it's too late to start the engine safely or to open the doors.

[Behemoth]

One suggestion which is possible is to have ramps made of metal, with a height of 2ft. In case of flooding drive over these ramps so that the front is lifted 2 ft off the ground. This way at least engine will be saved as the air intake will be more than 4 ft off the ground. Some water may enter the compartment but that is still salvageable and much lesser damage than engine water damage.
But the best idea would be to get something like a large inflatable raft made so that whole car can be raised off the water irrespective of the flood level!

[audioholic]

After suffering the pain of restoring a slightly flooded WagonR, I will go to any extent to prevent that situation from reoccurring. Hence, I have made it a strict practice to avoid parking in flood prone places. Recently we had been to Tirupathi and the hotel we stayed had a really stupid basement. There was no sufficient parking and the cars were stacked in such a way that some of the cars parked inside couldn't have been taken out without removing a few other cars. Leave alone provision for drainage, the basement was not even ventilated properly. Since it was raining heavily the previous day, I refused to park inside this basement and in the evening we had been out to visit a temple during which a massive cloud burst occurred. So much that the temple we visited was itself in knee deep water and people never expected such rains to occur and were totally unprepared.

By the time we reached the hotel, it was pretty late and as expected the basement was slightly filled with water maybe by a few inches. That was not bothering people who had parked their cars inside. I parked outside in a road where parking was not allowed. Since it was too late, there were no cops around and no traffic either. That night the rain continued and no one realised that the basement got flooded further upto around 2ft of water. The security was fast asleep and when he woke up somewhere in the middle of the night, it was too late and he couldn't wake up the owner of the car parked in the ramp of the basement.

The negligence led to a huge altercation the following morning with every other person blaming the person next to him, his neighbour, the hotel Management, security and so on. In the middle of this altercation, the guy who parked his car on the ramp had escaped. The owner of the hotel too had parked his car inside but it was an XUV which didn't seem to be much affected. He only offered to call a towing vehicle since a Baleno which was blocking another car could not start, and it had blocked another car.

We had breakfast admist this and by the time we checked out, my car was fined by the police and I had to pay up 100 for parking in a no parking zone. I admitted my mistake, explained the situation(they went ahead to resolve the huge quarrel) and we left back to Bangalore.

Now why this story? Prevention is better than cure. Trust me, do anything but get your car waterlogged. If you are parking the car regularly in a place prone to flooding, please remove it as soon as you sense there is heavy rain. Don't depend on the weatherman's predictions. Don't take chances and keep waiting for things to get better. I may sound paranoid, but when my dad took a chance and drove the WagonR into an underpass, it got flooded till the seat. Cleaning and drying the mess was a real pain though there was no electrical or mechanical issue.

Ideally if one has to wait and take a chance, I think the decision point should be when water covers the GC of the car. Wait no longer and remove it. If removing is really not possible, try to get a bunch of bricks and start jacking up the car and placing it on the bricks. At least, raising the car like that will give some room for water level to rise. Since many cars have the Airbag controller, ESP sensor and power steering controllers at low levels, this can at least save such components from getting toast.

[sharktale]

I was wondering if one could place the car on the jack in the front like the picture attached.
It could minimize the water intake in the air chamber in the front, and owing to the wonders of gravity, the exhaust pipe would be water-free as well even after the water has receded..
What do you guys feel?

[MinivanDriver]

Simply blocking off the exhaust and air intake by water tight caps and removing the battery should offer a decent amount of protection against a great amount of damage? May be one can remove the ECU as well. While at it, I think pulling out all the fuses also should be good (not sure if this would help further with the battery removed). I am just thinking out aloud. Please comment.

[honeybee]

Also take out the floor mats, head unit, speakers and seat covers?

What kind of a protection are we talking about? When a car has been parked in the allotted parking spot in your own building, apartment or bunglow, or an overnight or temporary parking such as office, a hotel?

At home or where owner has time and space, wrapping the car up in tarp might actually work effective against a couple of feet of water.

If temporary or constrained by time and space, protecting the vitals such as air intake and risking the floor mat or carpet being damaged might be more practical.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by smartcat

This is too rare an event to plan ahead. There is no real solution either, because you will never know up to what level the water will rise.

Not for me, man. I live right next to the beach. Heavy rains + high tide make our lane flood up quickly. Usually, the east-side parking lot has never flooded up too high; it didn't even in the 2005 deluge. However, this is what happened last week:


The west side (level of water went even higher than this after a couple of hours):


Some great suggestions on the thread. Here's what I'm thinking:

1. Raise the parking spot of my car by 2 feet permanently. It's my building and no one else is allowed to park inside, so permissions aren't an issue. Can have a smooth slope on all sides.

2. The tarpaulin sheet is a brilliant idea! Just have to make sure that it is kept in good condition. A single hole will render it useless.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

If you can forsee it, rent a flatbed, perhaps?

. Smart suggestion! Call a flatbed, pay him a bit extra for speedy service and drive the car onto it.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Buying a car with good GC would be a good way to start planning. I don't think I'll get the confidence to buy a low slung sedan in India, ever

And I prefer low slung sedans over SUVs .

[abhishek46]

My 2 Cents.

1. Irrespective of the car you own, Buy Zero Dep Insurance with Flood/Engine Damage Cover.
2. Fabricate a pair of simple Ramps and keep them handy. If you foresee water Logging, use the Ramps.
- Please reference our very own Gannu_1's excellent DIY for making a set of wooden Ramps. (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-do...car-ramps.html)
- If DIY isn't you cup of tea/coffee, then you can get these done by a Carpenter.
3. In worst scenario, use the Puncture Jacks provided with the vehicle and lift the front of the vehicle. (Preferably Buy two good quality jacks used by Puncture Guys, as they are faster to use and support more Height)

[bblost]

Maybe a smaller version of this
http://www.snopes.com/texas-house-saved-inflatable-dam/

I love the idea.

[vigsom]

Prevention is better than cure.So raised surfaces, jacks, ramps, chain pulley blocks to raise the front of the car are all the right solutions.

I'd add a few more just in case one expects water level to exceed 3feet.

1.Remove the battery after locking the car.

2.Remove the ECM which is now housed in the engine bay on most cars; easy decoupling on ECMs these days.

3.Remove the immobiliser module under the ignition key.

4.Seal the air intake with a plastic sheet well taped to prevent water ingress.

Post flood water receding, most cars can be cleaned very well inside.My Etios restoration made me realize this.Save the electronics and at least the car would function.

[SnS_12]

Such natural calamities are going to happen every year and it will keep getting worst with each passing year. In India, most of the times such calamities happen, the citizens are taken off guard as we never receive adequate prior warning.

One of the ideal solution would be to identify areas around your home offices, which are less likely to get flooded and move your car there. In case if the car is at home and you are stuck in office (which is the situation mostly if you have more than one car) one of the family members or a friend could move the car there. It will be a quick and safe solution.

Secondly, we could eliminate the situation totally by investing in the right real estate if we are planning to buy a new house or shift to a new location. Underground parking in low lying areas are a disaster waiting to happen. Have seen basement parking in Mumbai buildings constructed by reputed builders being completely flooded thanks to the shady work done by the civic cooperation around it. We were lucky enough to move to a flat in a building which is constructed on a higher ground compared to its surroundings and with podium parking.

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by GTO

Not for me, man. I live right next to the beach. Heavy rains + high tide make our lane flood up quickly. Usually, the east-side parking lot has never flooded up too high; it didn't even in the 2005 deluge. However, this is what happened last week:

And I prefer low slung sedans over SUVs .

Wow that's a lot of water at your place. A friend of mine also lives in Prabhadevi and he faced a similar situation in his lane.
One permanent solution I can recommend is the car lifts like they use in service stations or the multi level car parking lifts.

These can raise the cars by a good 7-8 ft and will also give you more space to park your cars inside in normal conditions. They should be able to save your car from such flooding. However you may need to ask the supplier to make it flood proof and have the electricals mounted high and waterproof.

[Whiplash7]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Why don't you just lay the giant tarpaulin sheet on the floor and drive over it? The below pic is of a car parked in camping site - the tarpaulin cover prevents reptiles and small mammals from getting into the engine bay.

Attachment 1671855

I guess such a setup offers decent flooding protection too.

Though it sounds like an excellent idea and one that suits us, I really doubt if it would hold up against flood water pressure. I think it would give way unless the tarpaulin reaches all the way to the top.

Originally Posted by Behemoth

But the best idea would be to get something like a large inflatable raft made so that whole car can be raised off the water irrespective of the flood level!

This is in my opinion this sounds like the better idea. But the vehicle would start drifting away if not secured.
For all you know wrapping you vehicle water tight in tarpaulin would make it float due to the trapped air inside.

And the best idea I feel are the metal ramps. I think they are a good investment and most reliable.

[SmartCat]

An apartment complex next to my brother's place has installed powerful water pumps (with long pipes) to pump out water. If flooding is frequent, this might help.

Originally Posted by Whiplash7

Though it sounds like an excellent idea and one that suits us, I really doubt if it would hold up against flood water pressure. I think it would give way unless the tarpaulin reaches all the way to the top.

You could use a second tarp to cover the top - so that water does not enter the lower tarp cover. This is a must if it is open parking area like GTO's. Covered parking areas won't be needing the second tarp.

[Axe77]

Lot of interesting ideas here. I feel so blessed that my office parking is leakage free and at P4 level and residence parking at P1 but well over road level so again no flooding. To have two covered non flooding parkings in this city is indeed a boon.

I like a lot of the ideas floating (pun intended) here. I think for people like GTO who are in the rare control of their building, a ramp / slope works.

The tarpaulin in combination or standalone is an absolutely brilliant low tech solution.