How Sandbags Can Protect Homes From Flooding In El Paso

Sandbags can be used to control flooding and/or help hold water back. In El Paso, I always saw having them as unnecessary. Turns out, I was wrong.

El Paso doesn't get a lot of rain, averaging only around 8" a year and most of that tends to come all at once. Well, at one point in the year anyway, what El Pasoans know as the monsoon season.

When you hear "flooding" you think of submerged streets, people's homes under water and rescue operations. What the hell is a sandbag going to do to help?

Why Sandbags?

In a massive flood like those in Ruidoso last year, they won't do much. Even a little water however can do damage and water is a tenacious thing that can get in anywhere.

If you live at the bottom of a hill or have a basement, it doesn't take a flood of biblical proportions to let water into your home. In my case, it's a weird combination of wind, construction and a contractor who cheaped out on the garage door.

The bottom 2 or 3 inches of the garage door is a foam block. Outside the garage door is a carport and when the winds get heavy, they get in there and swirl around, pushing water. My house is about as far from being "flood - prone" as you can get since we're atop a hill.

I said, "we're ok here" - Mother Nature said "hold my beer". The swirling wind under the carport actually pushes water uphill and through that freaking foam. Not much left now but you can kinda see by the water stains how far inside it's gotten.

Where To Get Sandbags

So, people trying to find sandbags in El Paso is not a dumb, paranoid thing. Luckily, they're easy to find and, best of all, they're free. Whether you're trying to hold off a good amount of water or just a little seepage, you can get up to 10 bags, (FREE), per visit, at these locations:

4801 Fred Wilson Ave
7830 Paseo del Norte
9292 Escobar Dr

County of El Paso locations:

Road & Bridge Fabens Warehouse, 1331 N. Fabens St., Fabens, TX 79838
Road & Bridge Canutillo Warehouse, 191 Canutillo Avenue, Canutillo, TX 79835
Road & Bridge Montana Warehouse, 14698 Van Lane, El Paso, TX 79938

EP Water, sandbags available from 8AM to 8PM – ID or EP Water bill required. Info taken from the El Paso Office Of Emergency Management website.

NOTE: After writing this, I found out, (the hard way of course), that not all of these locations are open daily. Call ahead or just go straight to to 4801 Fred Wilson. That one is open daily.

15 common sense flood preparation tips

Gallery Credit: Dan Zarrow

Texas Tragedy: Devastating Images from the Texas Hill Country and Guadalupe River Flooding

A tragedy in Texas in Texas continues to unfold as rescue works continue their search to find victims of the flooding in central Texas. The number of deaths continue to rise and are expected to soar past 100 as more bodies are found and identified. Sadly, at least 28 children have been confirmed dead, many who were attending the all-girls Camp Mystic. Most of the fatalities as of this writing have been reported in Kerr County. Below are some of the images of the devastation as captured by Getty Images.

Gallery Credit: Chad Hasty