When the civil protection alert was issued for the first time in Malaga province last night, the people of Malaga had already taken precautions. Fears of new floods due to the second DANA to hit Spain in less than two weeks have led people along the Mediterranean coast to park in higher neighborhoods and pack their cars with plastic wrap. It makes sense: For many families, the car is the most valuable asset after the house.

The cars are covered in plastic. The sight of cars wrapped in improvised raincoats made of plastic and plastic wrap was repeated in many cities in Spain. In La Alcudia, south of Valencia, someone lifted a Mercedes-Benz onto four boards, tied it to a lamppost and wrapped it several times in plastic wrap to prevent water from running off or soaking the interior.

In the Carlinda neighborhood of Malaga, a person wrapped his 4×4 in different plastics and left it tied with a rope. In another, more difficult-to-watch image, we see a car completely wrapped in film, part of which is reinforced with what looks like a linoleum kitchen tablecloth. And there’s another photo of a car with three pool cuties tied to its windshield that we couldn’t verify recently.

The mission is to save the car. The images of thousands of vehicles adrift in water, blocking overpasses, were very recent and had a profound impact across Spain. Taking the car out of the garage when it was too late condemned many of the victims of the tragedy in Valencia, so last night many Andalusians, Catalans, Valencians… took their cars out of the garage hours before it started to rain.

Many decided to park in higher neighborhoods (I live in Malaga and had trouble finding parking near my house last night, which is usually not a problem). And yes, some neighbors tried to waterproof their cars so that the new DANA would cause as little damage as possible. Others, fearing for their brotherhood, protected their doors with plastic and wood.

The logic of plastic packaging. Although it may seem ridiculous to make a raincoat for a car out of transparent paper, for many families it is the most valuable asset after housing. First of all, transportation is the third highest type of expenditure in Spain, after housing and food. Spaniards spend 3,778 euros a year on transport, a category that includes vehicle purchase and maintenance in INE research.

However, in recent years, car prices, including second-hand ones, have increased so much that the average Spaniard cannot even afford 90% of the vehicles sold on the market. And the prospects are no better. Analysts predict a €2,000 increase to the consumer with future Euro 7 regulations.

Insurance problem. With the Valencia tragedy still before our eyes, Spaniards who set out to protect their cars last night have another problem: most insurance policies do not cover damage caused by a natural disaster. There may be cases where insurance covers window damage but not damage caused by flooding.

It is true that if the damage is extraordinary, the Insurance Claim Consortium will deal with the claim. But as severe storms became more common, insurance policies were strengthened with clauses specifying damage that could occur within an hour or at wind speeds over 60 miles per hour. Waterproofing your car with plastic wrap is viral tweet bait, but trying to protect your car when it’s safe to leave the house isn’t such a crazy idea.

in Xataka | Biggest scrappage in Spanish history: DANA, 100,000 cars affected, causing huge problem