---
title: "During the Next Big Flood, Just Drive Your Car Into a Giant Ziploc Bag"
description: "The Flood Guard car bag looks like a promising solution on the cheap... with a few caveats."
date: "2017-09-25"
modified: "2017-09-26"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/article/14600/during-the-next-big-flood-just-drive-your-car-into-a-giant-ziploc-bag"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "flood"
  - "flood guard"
  - "flooded cars"
  - "Hurricane Harvey"
  - "Hurricane Irma"
---

# During the Next Big Flood, Just Drive Your Car Into a Giant Ziploc Bag

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/09/flood_guard_car_bag_7_530x2x.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Last week, we highlighted [some pretty epic drone footage](<https://www.thedrive.com/watch-this/14504/drone-footage-reveals-staggering-amount-of-flooded-cars-destroyed-by-hurricane-harvey>) showcasing the [staggering number of cars](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/13961/hurricane-harvey-may-have-destroyed-half-a-million-cars-and-trucks-in-texas>) destroyed by Hurricane Harvey in the Houston area. The Harvey/Irma 1-2 punch took out north of a million vehicles in the southeastern United States in less than a month's time, not to mention the chaos in the Caribbean. It's probably got you thinking—what can I do to protect my car ahead of the next massive flood?

If this new product from [a company called Flood Guard](<https://www.facebook.com/floodguardph/>) works as advertised, the solution is far simpler than you're thinking. Their car bag is, well, a giant heavy-duty zipper bag for your car, complete with a waterproof seal plus tethers and padded bumpers to it anchored and protected when things get a little floaty. Simply drive in, *turn off your engine* (we can't stress this enough), and exit to begin the waterproofing process.

https://youtube.com/embed/GV2ij8zAwTA

After sealing the bag and folding up the edges like a giant present, all you have to do is attach the anchoring lines and foam bumper pads. The whole thing looks straightforward enough that two people could probably get it done in less than ten minutes, so it potentially has some utility in shorter-warning situations like controlled reservoir releases. A proof of concept video shows the bag actually works (in a controlled environment at least), protecting a Nissan Juke as it bobs in 30 inches of water and allowing it to be driven out after the test.

https://youtube.com/embed/0DRcMk1DupE

Of course, the extended hazardous conditions posed by a real-life Category 3, 4, or 5 storm will pose an entirely different set of challenges. The [Flood Guard website](<https://www.floodguardph.com/collections/flood-guard-car-bags>) has no information on technical specs or capability ratings, so we don't know what kind of forces those straps can withstand, or how long the bag will stay watertight. We also don't know whether the material used is tough enough to stand up to the toxic chemicals that often leech into standing floodwaters. And we question the use of Velcro to attach the bumper pads, and whether that indicates corners cut elsewhere.

At the same time, though, the test showed it worked at least once, and once is all you can really ask for from a $280 product like this. It seems like it would have been especially useful in Houston, where the waters simply rose out of nothing in many low-lying neighborhoods and accounted for far more damage than wind. It probably wouldn't protect your car if the waterline rose above the roof, and you wouldn't want to use it for long-term storage, but it's cheaper than comprehensive insurance.

You might want to consider that too, though. Sales in the U.S. will reportedly begin next month.

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)