2026-10-15 11:05:10

Forget piling up sandbags. Scientists say a roll of gaffer or duct tape could be a surprisingly effective weapon against rising floodwater.

Researchers at the University of Hull tested different tapes, sandbags and doors in a specialist flood resilience laboratory to see how well they could keep water out, and the results were striking.

Flexible synthetic rubber tape reduced water leakage by 99 per cent compared with an unprotected door, while duct tape cut leakage by between 97 and 98 per cent.

By comparison, sandbags reduced leakage by around 70 per cent.

The researchers also found that even the lowest-performing tape reduced leakage by 80 per cent, while outward-opening doors performed better when taped than inward-opening ones.

The experiments were limited to water depths of 2ft (600mm), designed to replicate the type of low-level flooding experienced in Hull during the devastating 2007 floods.

Around 10,000 properties were badly flooded when roughly a month’s worth of rain fell in a single day.

Janet Bark, whose home was among those affected, said she was “impressed” by the findings.

As quoted by the BBC, she said: “Gaffer and duct tape is something that is cheap and readily available. You can just have it in your house, just in case.”

Her husband John said tape could provide 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.

However, the researchers stressed that tape should not replace permanent flood protection.

Professor Stuart McLelland said the findings could provide “immediate benefits” by helping households reduce the amount of water entering their homes, but tape was not a substitute for “permanent, professionally installed property flood resilience measures”.

Sarah Bouskill, whose mother’s home was flooded in Horncastle, said the findings were “hugely interesting”, although she doubted tape could have stopped the water that entered through the floor and walls.

The research was commissioned by Flood Re, with Jonathan Kassian saying the findings “turn that assumption on its head”.

Sandbags can also be difficult to store, carry and dispose of, particularly after becoming contaminated with sewage.

The simple solution may therefore be worth keeping in the cupboard, ready for when the water starts rising.

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