MIAMI – As emergency responders respond in the following few days after Hurricane Milton, they need to contend with many hazards from the damage along the Gulf Coast – downed power lines, unstable ruins, leaking natural gas tanks and pipes, chemical spills and more.
There's one other growing concern unique to coastal Florida and other hurricane zones – the spontaneous combustion of electrical vehicles inundated by the salty storm surge.
Not every electric vehicle inundated by a storm surge will burst into flames, however it's so common that insurers, automakers, fire chiefs and politicians have warned all electric vehicle owners concerning the expected devastation from Hurricane Milton. And it's not only cars which are a priority.
Jimmy Patronis, Florida's chief financial officer and state fire marshal, issued an announcement Monday detailing a series of fires following Hurricane Helene, which flooded much of the Gulf Coast just two weeks ago. The state found 50,000 electric and hybrid vehicle registrations in the trail of Hurricane Milton's storm surge and counted at the least 64 Lithium battery burns after Hurricane Helene. 17 of those were electric vehicles, the remaining were devices akin to scooters, hoverboards and golf carts. A fireplace was even began by an electrical wheelchair.
Geico, a serious auto insurer in Florida, sent an email Wednesday quoting Patronis' statement to its policyholders warning them of the threat posed by electric vehicles and suggesting looking for protected parking spaces. Tesla also sent a push notification to the cars warning owners to maneuver to higher ground.
The threat of difficult-to-extinguish lithium battery fires could worsen damage to homes and buildings after floods, he said.
“I guarantee you the average person doesn't realize they have saltwater flooding liability in their home,” Patronis said in an interview with the Miami Herald on Wednesday. He called flooded lithium-ion batteries “ticking time bombs” that would cause worse damage than the storms that damaged them.
Social media has captured plenty of electric vehicle fires over time. In a recent one viral surveillance video Posted by Pinellas County, a Tesla swamped by Helene's storm surge burns loudly before catching fire and filling a house's garage with smoke in lower than a minute. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor also said in a news conference that a house is planned for the Davis Islands burned down Also to Helene because of a fireplace in an electrical vehicle.
“Water and the ion batteries don’t mix and they literally explode,” she said.
That's the fundamental problem: salt water conducts electricity. If it gets into sealed lithium-ion batteries utilized in cars and lots of other devices, it could actually cause a brief circuit, causing heat and possibly a fireplace. The effect is analogous to unintentionally touching each terminals of a automotive battery with a wrench – sparks fly.
Fires which are tougher to place out
Lithium battery fires following saltwater flooding aren’t a brand new concern. The first reported fires in electric vehicles occurred back in October 2012 after Hurricane Sandy. But as an increasing number of drivers switch to electric cars, there are an increasing number of of them. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that in Hurricane Ian in 2022, between 3,000 and 5,000 electric vehicles were affected by the storm, with 600 total losses 36 catch fire.
Tesla's vehicle guidelines on its website state that the vehicle can’t be submerged in water and that if it ever happens, it must remain at the least 15 meters away from buildings until a mechanic can have a look at it. For some electric vehicles with water damage, a mechanic can remove the battery and dry it. An associate professor on the University of South Florida can also be working on it Development of a battery This would prevent fires after the hurricane.
Andrew Klock, who oversees EV training programs for first responders on the National Fire Protection Association, said battery fires are rare but firefighters have to know take care of them.
“Firefighters had 100 years to figure out how to put out a fire in a gasoline car. They can delete that very efficiently,” said Klock. “On the other hand, once a battery has been started, it is not so easy to discharge.”
When this happens, it could actually be difficult to regulate a fireplace. Common methods of putting out a fireplace like a blanket don't work, and because the battery is encased in steel, it takes some time for the outer box to chill down.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said battery fires can occur weeks after electric cars are submerged in salt water and that extinguishing the fireplace could take hours and use between 3,000 and eight,000 gallons of water.
Patronis said he has seen the challenge firsthand. After Hurricane Ian two years ago, an electrical vehicle caught fire in Collier County and a fireplace truck used all of the water in 10 minutes to place it out. They ran a fireplace hose on the automotive for an additional hour to place out the flame, after which at 6 p.m. it reignited, he said.
It's essential to notice that, except for damage from saltwater flooding, electric vehicles actually pose a much lower risk of catching fire than gasoline vehicles. Data from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board shows that for each 100,000 electric vehicles sold, there are about 25 fires. In comparison, there are around 1,530 fires for each 100,000 petrol vehicles sold.
Patronis emphasized that he will not be suggesting that electric vehicles pose risks when used recurrently.
“It's a fantastic technology and won't be a problem in Atlanta, Oklahoma or Dallas,” Patronis said. “It’s a saltwater problem for storm surge areas. I was always afraid of Tampa Bay.”
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