Hurricane Harvey delivered devastating damage on August 24, 2017, in Port Aransas, Texas. Rahel Abraham and all her neighbor’s cars were totaled in the flood which made it difficult for them to mobilize for the recovery process. This crisis gave Abraham an idea that became ClimaGuard, a temporary enclosure made of heavy-duty, waterproof materials to protect cars and other belongings in a flood.
Abraham lost her 2008 Infiniti G35 to water damage, including a collection of large-format artwork her friend created. While waiting weeks for insurance she found herself thinking that she had the time and understanding of materials and wanted to do something.
Abraham has a chemical engineering degree at the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Houston. She put her knowledge to work to design, test, and manufacture her creation. The final product is like a giant Ziploc bag for cars and other objects. The good thing is that
“Once it starts floating, it’s like a boat, you can move it with one hand.”, said Abraham
She came up with a number of essentials for her creation: a tool which was important to be handled by a single person, then anchoring straps to prevent the car from drifting, and, lastly the quality of the material.
The ClimaGuard sold out its first 30 units and is priced in three sizes starting at $399, less than the average $500 for an insurance deductible. It only weighs 30 pounds and can be stored in a duffel bag and be set up in ten minutes by one person.
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Image Credit: Rahel Abraham