Current:Home > MarketsOfficials warned electric vehicles can catch fire in Helene flooding: What to know -AssetLink
Officials warned electric vehicles can catch fire in Helene flooding: What to know
TradeEdge View
Date:2025-04-11 11:10:36
- Flooding from Hurricane Helene has submerged roads and vehicles across the Southeast.
- Experts say it is not necessarily more likely for an electric vehicle to catch fire due to flooding.
- If flooding actually does cause an electric vehicle to catch fire, it is likely because collision or water intrusion has caused its battery to short circuit.
In addition to killing more than 100 people and causing power outages for nearly 1.6 million customers, Hurricane Helene has submerged roads and vehicles across the Southeast.
Since the system's landfall in Florida's Big Bend area late Thursday, torrential rain has destroyed vehicles and homes throughout Florida, the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia. Officials have carried out hundreds of water rescues in flooded areas.
At least 133 deaths have been caused by the catastrophic storm, according to the The Associated Press. Floods and landslides have caused houses to float away, bridges to crumble, grocery store produce to flow into the streets and semi-trucks to be tossed into mangled piles.
Ahead of Helene's arrival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned electric vehicle owners to get to higher ground and avoid the risk of fire.
"If you have an EV, you need to get that to higher land," DeSantis said at a Wednesday news conference. "Be careful about that getting inundated. It can cause fires."
Flooding from Hurricane Ian, which killed 156 people in 2022, damaged an estimated 358,000 vehicles in Florida and the Carolinas. However, only 21 electric vehicles are known to have caught fire, far fewer than what officials initially warned.
Here's what to know about whether flooding impacts electric vehicles.
Can submerged electric vehicles catch on fire?
Experts say it is not necessarily more likely for an electric vehicle to catch fire due to flooding with only a small percentage of registered EVs doing so, according to USA TODAY analyses.
For every 100,000 electric vehicles, 25 catch fire annually, statistics compiled by AutoInsuranceEZ show.
However for every 100,000 gas-powered cars, 1,530 fires are reported a year primarily due to fuel leaks or crashes.
Why do flooded electric vehicles catch fire?
If flooding actually does cause an electric vehicle to catch fire, it is likely because collision or water intrusion has caused its battery to short circuit.
This rare event is called a thermal runaway, when the battery cell discharges energy and heats up from one cell to the next, causing a fire.
What do if your vehicle is submerged?
If your vehicle stalls in rising waters, do not attempt to restart it, as this could cause further damage to the engine and components.
Instead, AAA urges you to leave the vehicle immediately and move to higher ground or a safe location.
Tesla recommends following these three steps if your vehicle is submerged:
- Contact your insurance company.
- Do not attempt to operate the vehicle until it's inspected by an authorized shop.
- Tow or move the vehicle at least 50 feet from structures, cars, personal property and any other combustible materials.
What to do after is recovered from flooding?
Before using your submerged vehicle after it's recovered, AAA experts recommend assessing the damage. The severity of the damage will depend on how high the water got. If the water stayed below your doors, your car likely didn't sustain much damage.
However, if water did rise above the bottom of your doors, they advise those to not make any attempts to restart the vehicle. Doing so could allow water to get inside your engine, causing irreversible damage.
Contributing: Kinsey Crowley, Elizabeth Weise and Samantha Neely
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Breaking debut in Olympics raises question: Are breakers artists or athletes?
- Suspect Captured in Murder of Tech CEO Pava LaPere
- Federal agencies detail impacts of government shutdown with deadline fast approaching
- Jawlene, Jawlene! Florida alligator missing top jaw gets punny Dolly Parton name
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- First Floods, Now Fires: How Neglect and Fraud Hobbled an Alabama Town
- Clock is ticking as United Autoworkers threaten to expand strikes against Detroit automakers Friday
- From locker-room outcast to leader: How Odell Beckham Jr. became key voice for Ravens
- The Daily Money: Disney+ wants your dollars
- Project conserves 3,700 acres of forest in northern New Hampshire
Ranking
- How breaking emerged from battles in the burning Bronx to the Paris Olympics stage
- US quietly acknowledges Iran satellite successfully reached orbit as tensions remain high
- Baton Rouge police reckon with mounting allegations of misconduct and abuse
- Australian defense minister says army will stop flying European-designed Taipan helicopters
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- A bus carrying dozens of schoolchildren overturns in northwest England, seriously injuring 1 person
- Clock is ticking as United Autoworkers threaten to expand strikes against Detroit automakers Friday
- Homes unaffordable in 99% of nation for average American
Recommendation
Residents in Alaska capital clean up swamped homes after an ice dam burst and unleashed a flood
Stock market today: Asian shares mixed, with most regional markets closed after Wall St ticks higher
Prominent conservative donors ramping up efforts to urge Glenn Youngkin to enter GOP presidential race
The Best Beauty Advent Calendars of 2023: Lookfantastic, Charlotte Tilbury, Revolve & More
How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
Extremist attack kills at least 12 soldiers in Niger as jihadi violence increases post-coup
From vegan taqueros to a political scandal, check out these podcasts by Latinos
Traveling with Milley: A reporter recalls how America’s top soldier was most at home with his troops