Tape more effective than sandbags in flood tests

Homes at risk from flooding could be better protected in an emergency using widely available gaffer and duct tapes rather than sandbags, according to scientists.

Tests using different tapes, sandbags and a variety of doors have been carried out at the University of Hull.

The research found, when compared with an unprotected door, flexible synthetic rubber tape reduced water leakage by 99%, duct tape by 97 to 98% and sandbags by 70%.

Stuart McLelland, professor of water science, said the research could provide "immediate benefits" by helping households "reduce the amount of floodwater entering their homes".

However, while the work was "challenging established assumptions" about flood protection, he said tape was not a substitute for "permanent, professionally installed property flood resilience measures".

The tests were carried out in the university's property flood resilience laboratory.

A number of different doors were placed in a large water tank, which was then flooded.

Some doors were taped and some protected with sandbags. Synthetic "sandless" sandbags were also tested.

Researchers found the lowest performing tape reduced leakage by 80%, while taped outward-opening doors performed better than those that opened inward.

The laboratory tests were intentionally limited to water depths of 2ft (600mm), which replicated the type of low-level flooding experienced in Hull in 2007, when roughly a month's worth of rain fell in one day.

Among the victims were Janet and John Bark, whose home was one of 10,000 properties badly flooded.

Janet said she was "impressed" with the findings.

"Gaffer and duct tape is something that is cheap and readily available. You can just have it in your house, just in case."

John said tape offered a "convenient alternative" to sandbags.

"You need a lot of sandbags to protect your home in a flood and you need to store them somewhere. You then need to carry them and they can be heavy. It's just not a very practical solution", he added.

Janet, who volunteers as a Living with Water Ambassador in Hull, said the university's work would help her family to better understand future risks.

"We are generally more aware of what might happen, we now get flood alert on our phones and I think in future we could be there taping stuff up before the floods happen and that would be a great help and might reduce the damage," she added.

Sarah Bouskill, from Lincolnshire, said the research was "hugely interesting", but she had doubts that gaffer tape would have prevented her mother's home, in Horncastle, being inundated by water three years ago.

"We had to deal with an absolute deluge of water, it came up through the floor and through the walls and nothing would have stopped it."

She said it was "encouraging" that work was being done to look at different ways to protect homes from flood water.

"What's clear is that flooding is getting worse and it's great that researchers are putting the effort in to try to understand practical ways that we can try to defend our homes from it in some situations."

The experiments were commissioned by Flood Re a joint initiative between the UK government and the insurance industry aimed at making flood insurance more affordable.

Jonathan Kassian, head of flood resilience at Flood Re, said having the right products ready during a flood could make a "real difference" to outcomes.

"Sandbags remain a symbol of flood protection but these tests turn that assumption on its head," he said.

The research also concluded that sandbags were difficult to use and to dispose of, especially if contaminated with sewage.

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