A roll of tape blocked 99% of the floodwater

Ordinary tape, the kind sold by the roll in any hardware shop, blocked up to 99% of floodwater in tests at the University of Hull, outperforming the sandbags people have trusted for generations. Researchers at the university's Property Flood Resilience lab, commissioned by the government and insurer initiative Flood Re, compared cheap temporary measures applied to a standard front door. Flexible synthetic rubber tape cut leakage by 99%. Duct tape managed 97 to 98%. Even the worst-performing tape stopped 80%, while sandbags, which can rot and arrive contaminated, managed 70%. "Sandbags remain a symbol of flood protection, but these tests turn that assumption on its head," said Jonathan Kassian, Head of Flood Resilience at Flood Re. The study, published during Flood Action Week, found one more thing worth knowing. Tape works far better on the outside of the door than the inside. The water, it turns out, is not fooled by appearances.