Hurricane Harvey

[pocaracas]

18,000 Pounds Of Sandbags Weren't Enough To Protect This Houston Home:
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2...uston-home

They needed to actually cover the whole house.... then, it might have worked.

Wait, are they saying that the 4.5 feet of water  in the house came in over the top of the wrap or through the gaps in the sand bags at the bottom? I mean, they implied that the street flooded 9 feet and the house was at a slightly lower elevation than the rest of the houses on the street... I hate when news stories are vague...

I asked myself the same thing... From the height of the water in the pictures (which seems different on the outside and the inside), I'd say it went over.

In any case, my original point stands that retrofitting flood protection like this is not likely to be that effective. Water is an insidious bastard.

The person in that house did say her home had flooded twice in the few years she'd been there.... so...
The best option is for city planners to not allow building in flood prone areas. While you're at it, also disallow building in tornado prone areas.
[I can hear the politicians laughing at this suggestion]