There are many ways to keep water from coming in your home. Expensive options include the Aqua Dam (a large water filled continuous inner tube that surrounds your home), building a levy or berm around your house, and raising your home. Less expensive options are only good for 6 to 12 inches of water (except option #4 below) and will not protect it from several feet of water. If several feet of water is what you are preparing for, get flood insurance, plan to elevate as many of your belongings as possible (including moving at least one of your vehicles to higher ground), and evacuate before the water gets too deep to leave.
Here are four less expensive options for keeping water out of your house. Decide on and purchase them now. Don’t wait until the rain comes. How effective they are will depend on elevations, direction of water flow, and speed of water flow and rise.
1.Water barriers filled with water absorbent gel beads or powders. These eliminate the need for sandbags and sand. They come in several sizes from 2-foot lengths to a 17-foot length and can be stacked. They come flat and will swell to full size when activated with water. Be sure to have them in place before they reach full size or they may be too heavy to move. They can protect house doors and garage doors from leaking water into the interior of the house or garage and can be used as a water diverter so that water flows away from the house instead of towards it. They can be dried out and reused but they take a long time (as in weeks) to dry in humid climates. Brands include:
2. Water filled trash bags. This is a very temporary barrier to keep a few inches of water from coming in a doorway. Put trash bags down and fill with water. A commercial version that will be more sturdy, can be emptied, and reused can be found at HydraBarrier .
3. Sandbags and plastic. Sandbags filled with sand can block flood waters but will be even more effective if a layer of industrial grade plastic is put down first. Be sure the plastic comes up the outside walls of the house and isn’t just under the sandbags. The plastic will keep any water that seeps through the sandbags from entering the house. Use heavy duty pallet wrap or something similar.
4. Flood gates made for homes and businesses. These protect doorways from water 24 to 26 inches deep. They can be installed without alterations to the doorway and the doorway remains usable. They are more expensive than the three above options but would be worth the investment if your home or business is frequently threatened by flooding of even just a few inches.
Quick Dam floodgates
Flood Defense Group
Other options available, with greater protective heights for just a little bit more money can be found at Flood Defense Group.
There may be other things you can do to your property to protect it from flooding or to lessen its impact. Protect Your Home from Flooding: Low-Cost Projects You Can Do Yourself, produced by FEMA, may help you find ways to do that. The booklet can be found through this link.
There are also flood protection tools for your vehicles and personal possessions, including large pieces of furniture and pianos. These could be particularly helpful for apartment dwellers. One option can be found ClimaGuard.