A council has provided FloodSax sandless sandbags to people and businesses in a bid to save them from the misery of flooding.

Forward-thinking South Bucks District Council has published advice to people in its area to be prepared for the risk of flooding.

And although they do provide some FloodSax they stress: “If your home is at risk from flooding please take your own precautions. Remember, it is your responsibility to look after yourself and your property.”

This reiterates a message to buck the myth that councils will provide anti-flood devices or sandbags free to people in areas vulnerable to flooding. The vast majority provide nothing and have no responsibility to do so.

South Bucks District Council keeps an emergency stock of FloodSax for use in the event of a major emergency and says “these are held in a secure location.”

The council warns that sandbags come with their own problems.

The council’s website states: “Sandbags will disintegrate over time with exposure to the weather so they are not recommended for use after long periods. Once sandbags are no longer useable, the bag should be split, with the contents spread over or dug into the garden and the bag itself placed in the household rubbish bin. Under no circumstances should full sandbags be placed inside a wheelie bin.”

And they add: “FloodSax are a useful alternative to sandbags and have been made available to some individuals and communities. They are lightweight and absorb water in situ.”

How FloodSax work

FloodSax are transformed from being as light as a pillowcase to become better than traditional sandbags in around three minutes.

To do that, all you need to do is add water and watch them miraculously expand.

The semi-porous inner liner within FloodSax contains a special gelling polymer which absorbs the water to become taut.

They can be expanded in water in a bath, sink, bucket, hosepipe or even the floodwater itself. Once the water is in there, it stays there and the bags act just like sandbags to keep floods at bay. They are designed so they mould into doorways to keep floodwater out.

Before they are activated FloodSax are incredibly lightweight, amazingly weighing just 7 ounces yet once expanded they are strong enough to stop a powerful torrent of water in its tracks.

They can be deployed outside as a barrier to prevent floodwater from getting into homes or business.

And they can be used inside to soak up leaks and spills in hard to reach places such as beneath faulty boilers, radiators and pipes.

The key thing is they SAVE in every sense of the word.

* Written by Andy Hirst at AH! PR http://www.ah-pr.com/