Between strong hurricane activity and a powerful El Nino brewing in the Pacific, flash flooding is a big concern throughout much of the country this year. An average of seventy-five people in the United States have been killed by floods every year since 2004, and roughly two thirds of these were drivers in their cars.
Indeed, should you find yourself driving in a flooded area, you should take particular care. One of the big killers is driving into water of unknown depth; it can be easy to misjudge the depth of water, particularly in low-light conditions. Unlucky motorists will sometimes find that the road or bridge they are driving along has been entirely washed out, and they don’t realize the dangers until it is too late.
FEMA gives the following advice:
- As little as six inches of water will reach the bottom of most cars, putting you in danger of stalling or losing control.
- A foot of water will cause many passenger vehicles to float.
- Two feet of moving water has the potential to carry away most vehicles, including pickups and SUV’s.
Should your car become damaged by flood waters, you will want to act quickly to salvage it. Talk to Greenwood’s auto body shop in Seattle for more information.