What to do in the first minutes
Get yourself to dry ground first. Standing water hides open drains, live electrical lines, and moving current. Do not wade back to a stalled car to “just try the key.” Once you are safe, write down the nearest dry cross street so dispatch can meet you without guessing which block is still a pond.
- Leave the ignition off. Do not crank, bump-start, or jump a car that sat in water.
- Move to a sidewalk or a dry lot. Keep passengers with you, not in the flooded vehicle.
- Call (504) 414-8034. Say the car is flood-damaged and you want a flatbed, not a wheel-lift.
- Give a dry meet point if the car is still in water we cannot enter. We will plan the pull from pavement.
- Photograph the water line on the body and the interior before we load, if you can do that from dry ground.
Why you must not restart a flooded engine
Water does not compress the way air does. If it is sucked into a cylinder and you turn the starter, the piston has nowhere to go. That is hydrolock: bent rods, a cracked block, or a ruined engine from one hopeful key turn. Even a car that “only sat in a puddle” can have water in the intake if the air box sat low enough.
Electrical damage is a separate problem. Wet modules, soaked carpets, and a drowned battery can make the car look dead even when the engine itself is intact. A jump will not sort that out, and it is not a reason to keep cranking. Our jump start page is for a dry dead battery, not a flooded bay. Leave diagnosis to the shop you name as the drop-off.
Why a flatbed is the right tow
A wheel-lift needs two tires that roll and a car that will steer or at least hold a line. Flood water rusts brakes, swells carpets that lock pedals, and leaves debris in the wheel wells. Dragging that package down a New Orleans street risks more damage and can leave oil or coolant on the pavement. A flatbed tow winches the whole vehicle onto the deck.
That is also the setup we use for AWD, lowered, luxury, and classic cars that should not trail. If the car is high-centered on a curb or still half in a ditch after the water dropped, ask for a winch-out first so we pull it to pavement before we load. Winch-outs start at $95. Combined work is quoted as one number on the phone.
Flood-tow starting rates
| Service | Starting rate |
|---|---|
| Flatbed (recommended) | From $95 + $4/mile |
| Standard light-duty hook-up | From $75 + $4/mile |
| Winch-out if the car is stuck | From $95 |
Quoted as a flat total before dispatch. Verified September 2026. No after-hours surcharge.
Where we take a flood-damaged car
Name the destination on the first call: your mechanic, your driveway, or a storage spot you control. Mileage is $4 per mile from pickup to that drop-off. We do not choose a shop for you and we do not hold cars for an insurance adjuster. Licensed, insured, and bonded — we are the truck, not the claim file.
If the City of New Orleans already towed the car, that is a different path. The DPW Auto Pound is at 400 N. Claiborne Ave. We do not release city-impounded cars. Read the impound guide, finish the City’s process, then call us for the ride home.
Photograph the water line before the truck leaves
Generic documentation helps later conversations with a shop or an insurer: the water line on the door, the wet carpet, the VIN, and the street. We are not giving claim advice and we do not speak for any carrier. Take the photos from dry ground. Then stay out of the roadway while we cone and winch.
Hurricane season and flooded streets
Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, according to the National Hurricane Center at NOAA. New Orleans also floods on ordinary summer afternoons. Either way, do not treat a still-closed street as a tow request we can honor. Check Louisiana road conditions at 511la.org for closures, then call us with a legal, dry place to stage.
We cover the metro 24/7/365, including Lakeview along Allen Toussaint and Lakeshore Drive and Mid-City around Canal Street and City Park Avenue — two basins that hold water after heavy rain. Average arrival is about 30 minutes when the route is open. If a pump station or a barricade blocks us, we will say so instead of inventing an ETA.
“The useful flood call is ‘the car sat in water, we have not tried to start it, and we can meet you on the dry corner.’ The costly one is ‘we already cranked it and now it knocks.’ Leave the key off. We will bring a bed.”
Dispatch Manager, 24/7 Rapid Towing
Last updated: September 21, 2026
Dispatch a Flood Flatbed