[GTO]

Let's say heavy rains hit your city and you can see your car's parking spot slowly & steadily gather water. First, 6 inches....2 hours later, it's up to 1.5 feet. What would you do? The rain isn't stopping and it's too late to drive your car off somewhere else.

Please share India-specific suggestions.

Meanwhile, let me share an amazing story from Houston, courtesy Jalopnik:

Regardless, one Texas man had the foresight to raise his two BMW E36 M3s and one BMW X5 just enough to stand above the floods brought by Hurricane Harvey.

Sadly, the water kept coming and coming. When Crochet realized the flood would reach above the projected one foot mark, he turned to garden blocks to raise up the red M3

He's also put together an amazing video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYkdmHi6KpQ

[Jaggu]

This question always haunts me, unless you have proper tools or provision of jacks and stands, practically your car is doomed. Only thing one can try is to park at the highest point available, remove the battery and try barricade around the car as much as possible.. Sand bags being next best bet.

[libranof1987]

This is heart wrenching; the scale of damage to peoples' homes, possessions and of course, vehicles.

I doubt there's a lot people living in independent bungalows and small buildings can do. Most people take up every space of their plot to build livable space so even those hydraulic car parking lots are no use since there's not enough height.

Those living in high rises with multiple levels of car parking have some respite though; they can park their car on the highest level.

Given Gurgaon's spectacular infrastructure and construction quality at most complexes (even the famed Shapoorji Pallonji), even a burst of rain for a few minutes leaves knee-deep water in the basement parking area. The moment I see dark clouds, my first instinct is to bring the cars up on stilt parking.

I have come across very few building basements where there's no leakage from overhead pipes or don't submerge when it rains. Given the lousy job most constructions companies do, an ideal solution then would be to have parking on stilt and a level up.

But that comes at a significant cost; something the builder has no motivation for. The problem is, such events (thankfully) don't happen too often. So, there's hardly any reason why authorities and stakeholders want to seriously find a solution.

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

Mumbai / Chennai floods, Hurricane Harvey / Katrina are just unprecedented. I doubt there's anything you can do realistically to prevent damage.

[theMAG]

I was reminded of heavy rescue airbags used to recover crashed trucks here:
http://www.matjack.com/jumbo-turbo-s...-cushions.html

They're portable and heavy duty - ideal for a submerging car.

If this system is uavailable in India, I agree with Jaggu's suggestion of sandbags; ableit low-tech.

[v12]

I always thought jacking the car up would be the best solution - but then if the water level has already risen the water current would also be strong enough to drop the jacks thereby dropping the car off.

[Kiterunner]

Thanks for starting this thread.

Was discussing the same topic in office recently. Few things which came up:

Jacking up the car - Is this a realistic solution? Can it be done by one person? We may have to source the all the tools required for this beforehand and keep it ready. Apart for the normal jacking during punctures, I don't have the experience or knowhow in jacking up an entire car.

Battery removal - again needs to learn how to do this.

Also, I heard that the exhaust needs to be covered so that water does not enter. Experts please correct if this is wrong.

I was very worried yesterday as it rained continuously throughout the night. I even went out occasionally to check the water level at night. Thankfully, the parking lot did not gather much water in spite of the heavy rain. I parked my car in the multi level parking lot at office today and plan to use office transport for the next few days.

[Altocumulus]

I was wondering the same, specially scared of basements since if water level goes high up, even you wont be able to go there. However since my apartment has 2 levels of basement parking, I think having the car in the upper level makes sense since the water would go there first.

[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, unless it's a second or third car at home. No wonder the SUV segments are witnessing much higher growth than other segments in India.

Haven't been in a situation where my parking lot was flooded, but have been forced to navigate through some tough situations to get to safety when the rain gods decided to pour their blessings all at once, and these are situations where you end up thanking every single mm of ground clearance that the vehicle has got under its belly.

Clueless how to raise the vehicle if the parking lot gets flooded though! In fact, haven't really thought of the situation yet - the thread sure raises a good question, and hope to get some handy answers. The video sure is good, but the average Indian would not be able to afford so many resources / have such a large working space at his disposal.

[Kams_cars]

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, unless it's a second or third car at home. No wonder the SUV segments are witnessing much higher growth than other segments in India.

Clueless how to raise the vehicle if the parking lot gets flooded though! In fact, haven't really thought of the situation yet - the thread sure raises a good question, and hope to get some handy answers. The video sure is good, but the average Indian would not be able to afford so many resources / have such a large working space at his disposal.

I agree with the SUV growth in India.

the other alternative or onetime investment thing is - people who have went through water flooding apartment basements should build an elevated parking point like this "/" where the engine part is always at the top. And should park the car with hand brake and in gear. Also use some

https://sc01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1SxI7M...sh-on-sale.jpg

Or use some jackable iron ramp, which can be lifted few feet in case of flooding.

https://5.imimg.com/data5/YK/TF/MY-5...ne-250x250.jpg

https://5.imimg.com/data5/OX/TO/MY-2...ft-250x250.jpg

[dhanushs]

Without the usual workshop tools, it's pretty much what Jaggu has mentioned.

Apart from removing the battery, you can also try sealing the doors and openings in firewall with silicone. Other than this, if the water is above the firewall level, its very difficult for you to save your car.

However, one thing that pops to my mind is if you've gotten an inflatable pool/s, or that hopping balloon for kids or any inflatable toys/furniture , you can anchor your car, and blow up the furniture below the car. It just might raise up your one ton car. For heavier ones, it might be difficult, but better than nothing I guess.

[bowser]

This might be a crazy impractical thought but here goes:

I have seen cars float in flood waters. If the water level is getting high is it possible to lift your car a few inches with your bare hands aided by the buoyancy effect? If a couple of people can lift the car just an inch (or maybe with jacks), one could slide a giant tarpaulin sheet under the car and then wrap up the car like a dumpling and tie it off on top with a rope.

Ideally this should be done as soon as you feel the water level is going to rise.

[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.

Originally Posted by bowser

I have seen cars float in flood waters. If the water level is getting high is it possible to lift your car a few inches with your bare hands aided by the buoyancy effect? If a couple of people can lift the car just an inch (or maybe with jacks), one could slide a giant tarpaulin sheet under the car and then wrap up the car like a dumpling and tie it off on top with a rope.

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.



I guess such a setup offers decent flooding protection too.

[SVNY]

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.




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.

This will also be a nice idea to prevent mice and rodents harming the car if it is going to be parked for a long duration

[samaspire]

Originally Posted by smartcat

I guess such a setup offers decent flooding protection too.

This is by far the best option for us. Doable, cheap, practical and offers the best protection. If you get a big enough Tarpaulin the car can be kept safe even if the water level rises to the roof.

This is also one option where you can plan ahead - just buy a big tarp and keep it in the house. You could also practice tying it in a couple of times just to get the hang of it.

[Angst]

Originally Posted by smartcat

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

There are products based on this idea! Check out these videos.

https://youtu.be/GV2ij8zAwTA

https://youtu.be/h-rteQSHaIM

IMO, these solutions are good in theory but not at all practical. On Tuesday evening, at 5pm the water level in our compound was barely couple of inches high. 15mins later my dad shouted that the water's getting higher. It was thigh high and our Chevy Beat had taken in little water. Fortunately, water had not reached the air intake level. I crawled in through the rear hatch and took it to the end of the street which was at higher level. BMC guys had probably opened the floodgates which led to such sudden rise in water level (high tide could also be a factor).
There was no time to lay tarpaulin and drive the car over it.
When it threatens to flood, best plan is to take the car to high ground when you still have the chance instead of regretting later.

However, these products may still be useful for people who will be out of town during monsoon, live in low lying areas and have no alternative safer place to leave the car. There would still be a small price to pay given the chance of condensation and fungus inside the car once it is ziplocked!