Direct damages occur as crops, buildings, and vehicles are washed away or destroyed.
Indirect damages result as communications, transportation, and utilities are disrupted.
Other economic losses include cleanup and emergency care costs to a community and the subsequent losses in sales and wages as businesses are interrupted. Thousands of sandbags may be required, along with extensive labor to fill, transport, and position the bags. To date, this has been the most effective means of dealing with emergency flood conditions. The purpose of this project was to develop a method or device to overcome or minimize the problems that occur with present methods of emergency flood control. The parameters include low cost, minimum labor, ease of transport, and the ability to erect the dike in areas inaccessible by land vehicles.