Few people expected Hurricane Ian to cause electric vehicles to burst into flames.
That is what happened.
After Hurricane Ian, the saltwater flooding in coastal areas caused the batteries in electric vehicles to fail.
Firefighters in Naples had to put out six fires in EVs that had been submerged in water.
The fire department needed thousands of gallons of water to put out the EV fires, more than a typical gas car fire would need.
Two houses were destroyed by one of the EV's restarting.
This solar-powered Florida town was built to resist hurricanes. Is it possible that it worked?
The Director of Maryland's Energy Institute told CNBC that the batteries are filled with a flammable liquid electrolyte.
When the battery cells get damaged, the flammable liquid could start to boil and cause a fire.
Some companies, such asTesla and Ford, are replacing their batteries with batteries that are less volatile.
That doesn't stop the cars that have already caught fire.
Jack Danielson, executive director of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, directed those not involved in immediate life-saving missions to identify flooded electric vehicles with batteries and move them away from other structures.
Senator Rick Scott wrote a letter to the transportation secretary.
Local fire departments have been forced to divert resources away from Hurricane recovery to control and contain these dangerous fires. Even after the car fires have been put out, they can reignite.
The second-highest number of electric vehicles in the nation is in Florida.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
