Protecting a second home from flooding when you're not there
A flood plan for a second home has to work without you. Removable barriers only help if someone puts them up before the water arrives, and a storm surge warning generally comes within 36 hours of the danger. Agree in advance who deploys, what they do, how long it takes and how they reach you, and keep the barriers labeled and ready.
Many coastal homes are empty for weeks at a time, often in the fall when storms come. A flood plan that depends on the owner being there will not work. This page is about the part of the plan that has to happen without you.
The warning window
The National Hurricane Center issues a storm surge warning when life-threatening inundation from rising water is possible somewhere in the area "generally within 36 hours" (National Hurricane Center glossary). Everything on your plan, from putting up barriers to moving cars and valuables, has to fit inside that window, along with the time it takes your caretaker to reach the house.
Decide who deploys
Removable barriers protect nothing if they are still in storage. Before the season, agree with your caretaker, house-watch company or property manager:
- Who puts up barriers and sandbags, and who is the backup.
- When they start: at a watch, a warning, or a set tide forecast. Florida's guidance for residential temporary barriers makes the owner responsible for deploying in advance of flooding and asks the designer to estimate the time needed and when to start (Florida Division of Emergency Management); the same questions apply anywhere.
- How long it takes, timed in a practice run, not taken from a brochure.
- How they reach you, and what they can decide without you.
- What it costs, as part of their storm service.
The checklist to hand your caretaker
- Barrier panels and hardware stored in one place, labeled by opening, with a photo of each one installed.
- Tools, gaskets and anchors with the panels; a spare set of gaskets.
- Sandbags or a door dam for the openings without fitted barriers.
- Where the main electrical shutoff and water shutoff are, and when to use them.
- Valuables, rugs, art and furniture to move up from the lowest floor.
- Cars and outdoor furniture to move or secure.
- Pool equipment, generator and anything else at ground level that can be raised or protected.
- Who to call: you, the insurer, the town or village, and the installer.
- After the storm: photos before anything is moved, then removal and drying of the barriers.
Before the season
- Practice. Put the barriers up once with your caretaker and time it.
- Check the seals. Gaskets dry out and tracks fill with sand.
- Know the depth. FEMA says sealing a house is practical only where flood depths are no more than 2 to 3 feet, and not where there is wave action (FEMA, chapter 7). If your house is on the ocean or bay front, the plan is about elevation, utilities and contents, not barriers.
- Insurance. NFIP coverage starts 30 days after purchase, with mortgage-related exceptions (FloodSmart). Barriers on a home earn no NFIP discount; see flood barriers and flood insurance.
To compare barrier types, see DIY vs installed flood barriers. For local rules, see flood protection for Hamptons homes.
Frequently asked questions
- How much warning is there before storm surge flooding?
- The National Hurricane Center issues a storm surge warning when life-threatening inundation is possible somewhere in the area, generally within 36 hours. Barriers, sandbags and moving valuables all need to happen inside that window.
- Can my caretaker put up flood barriers for me?
- Yes, if they have practiced it, the panels are labeled by opening and the time it takes is known. Agree it in writing as part of their storm service, including when they start and how they reach you.
- Can I buy flood insurance when a storm is forecast?
- Usually too late for that storm. FloodSmart says NFIP coverage starts 30 days after purchase, with exceptions such as buying when you make, increase, extend or renew a mortgage.