Flooded Car /House: What to Do?

We live in a certain part of town that has a reputation for floods : (  A couple of years ago, my lancer and scooter got flooded and fortunately, there were no "major major" damage done. But I learned a lot of things from that experience. Number 1 is that an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.

So when baranggay officials started doing their rounds and warning everyone of  possible floods at around 2AM today, I had the rush out of bed and prepare for the worst. First thing's first - disconnect my cars and scooter's batteries - doing so somehow protects their electrical components. Water is a conductor of electricity and if their is current in your alternator, ECU, radio, etc. - chances of them shorting out is fairly high! :) Remove the battery if you still can - non-maintenance free batteries are not sealed - if flood water seeps in - say goodbye to your battery (a Motolitte 2SM battery costs 3,500!) :(

Remove everything that you can remove easily - carpets, matting, pillows, the face of the HU, car chargers, inverters, seat covers (if you still have the time), important documents (car registration, insurance, etc.). Keep them in a high place - this will save you a ton of work later on (you wouldn't have to clean them).

Make sure that the car doors and windows are closed tightly - do anything to delay the waters. Buy time :) Sand bags are the best way to keep water out - but they can be quite costly (around 30-40 per bag) so we had to improvise. :) I just hope this can be as effective. Remember - this won't keep the waters out - this will just slow it down and hopefully make the water level inside your house lower than it is on the streets.

Raise everything that you can raise - your computer, the stereo, your cds. As you can see, Voxy's speakers are already safely tucked away. Avoid wading in flood waters - if there's an AC outlet that flooded, the waters near it might have current and could electrocute you! Turn off your circuit breaker to be safe.

After the flood subsides - don't start your car/electrical appliances! Clean everything with fresh water first and allow it to dry thoroughly. Check your car's ECU (if it is an EFI engine) and hope that it is not flooded. Clean your carb , change all of your car's fluids (oil, powersteering fluid, brake fluid) if needed. A good way of checking if water has seeped in is through the deepstick - if the oil looks different (milky/brown) - have it changed! Flush your radiator and hose it with clean water.

A can of WD-40 goes a long way - the last time my scooter got flooded - I cleaned everything with fresh water and kerosene (pulley, belt, carb, CDI )  and just went crazy with WD-40 and sprayed everything with the stuff. I guess that did the trick since I had no problems with the scoot afterwards :) Spray some on your car's clutch and gas pedals - it also helps :)

As for your interiors, you'll be needing a lot of sun! You could have it done professionally but considering that the whole town will be lining up to have their car detailed - detailing prices might go up and it might take some time before you get your car back. If my car gets flooded (hopefully not) - I'll post the clean up here for sure :)

As of writing, it continues to rain cats and dogs outside. Be safe everyone. I'm praying for you.