If you’ve lived in a hurricane-prone area before, you already know the right preparation can go a long way towards preventing costly damage to your home. But did you know there are also ways you can protect your car from harsh hurricane damage? You may not be able to completely avoid all potential harm, but doing something is certainly better than nothing when it comes to protecting your property. Taking care of your family and home should be priority number one, but after you have that under control, here are a handful of things you can also do to protect your vehicle during a hurricane.
Protect Important Vehicle Information
Be sure to remove important items from your vehicle, such as your registration, insurance information and car keys before the storm and keep them in a plastic zip-sealed bag. Better yet, get copies of each item made and store them away in a dry, safe place so after the storm passes you’re able to use your vehicle if necessary.
Fill Up Your Tank
Having your car keys and vehicle registration won’t help much if your gas tank is empty. Fuel stations typically experience gasoline shortages during and after hurricanes – 60% of gas stations in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale and Gainesville were without fuel during Hurricane Irma – so topping off your tank prior to the storm will come in handy should there be a shortage of gas after the storm passes.
Deflate Your Tires
Removing the air from your tires will cause your vehicle to be far less buoyant so in case of flooding, your car is more likely to stay in one place. Of course, you may only want to do this if you have the means to re-fill your tires afterwards.
Take Photos of Your Car
Before the storm, be sure to take plenty of detailed photos of the interior and exterior of your car. In case your vehicle does get badly damaged during the storm, having these photos will aid you in making an insurance claim and potentially save you a lot of money in repair costs.
Park Your Car Safely
Parking indoors is your best bet. But if that’s not an option, try to park your vehicle underneath an overhead cover to better protect it from falling or flying debris. Also, parking on high ground can keep your car safe from flood damage. Conversely, parking near landmarks like trees, street signs, and powerlines leaves your car more exposed to flying debris.
Tape Up Your Windows
In addition to parking your car safely, be sure to tape up your windows in a crisscross pattern using masking tape. This will help keep salt water from seeping inside of your vehicle and seriously damaging your interior.
Drive Carefully
You may want to avoid driving altogether unless absolutely necessary. If you do, you should drive carefully and never drive through a flooded area even if it doesn’t appear to be very deep. It only takes about one foot of standing water for some cars to stall and become inoperable. You may have to abandon your car if it stalls in a flooded area, so it’s best to play it safe.
Hurricane Auto Repair
Even if you’ve done all that you can do to protect your car during a hurricane, you may still need to get some bodywork done after the inclement weather has subsided. For those on the east coast, Carsmetics has body shops in Florida, New Jersey, and North Carolina ready to provide expert auto body repair. Contact Carsmetics online or by calling 1-888-455-3456 today.
