Houston, the 4th most populous city, was hit with nearly 52 inches of rain. At least 88 people were killed, and thousands lost their homes.
Houston has 2.3 million residents and spreads out over 627.5 square miles. Throw in the suburbs, and the metro region expands to 6.3 million residents and almost 1300 square miles.
The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles had more than 3.5 million cars registered in Houston’s Harris County during 2016
In fact, there were so many cars floating (or sinking) that tow trucks were coming in from out of state to reap the harvest. Insurance Auto Auctions, a major player in the U.S. auto-salvage game, alone contracted with a reported 1000 wreckers.
McRee Ford is owned and run by the family who started the business in 1947, it’s physically the sort of dealership that Ford would want all its stores to be. At least when it’s not submerged.
“The water came in everywhere,” recalls Dale, McRee’s great-grandson. “We had to destroy $61,000 worth of new tires. Drilled holes in all of them. The insides of tires aren’t made to get wet.”
Just days after the storm ended, the dealership was back in business selling new cars again. In addition to the post-Harvey demand for new vehicles, Ford’s “Texas Is Family” promotion, which offered employee pricing to anyone who lost a vehicle to the flood, made September the best month yet for new-car sales at McRee—385 units.
How many vehicles were destroyed or damaged during Harvey is easy to speculate about, but tough to pin down. And it depends on who is counting. Insurance companies seemed quick to total out cars touched by water. But not everyone carries comprehensive insurance, and no one knows how many flooded cars were simply abandoned or how many are being kept on the road by owners who can’t afford anything else.
How many vehicles were destroyed or damaged during Harvey is easy to speculate about, but tough to pin down. And it depends on who is counting. Insurance companies seemed quick to total out cars touched by water. But not everyone carries comprehensive insurance, and no one knows how many flooded cars were simply abandoned or how many are being kept on the road by owners who can’t afford anything else.
https://www.caranddriver.com/features/hurricane-harvey-destroyed-more-vehicles-than-any-single-event-in-america-this-is-the-aftermath-feature
Now... that part about drilling holes in 61 thousand dollars worth of tires. Not a joke.
"Due to the likelihood of damage to the inner structure of a tire by contaminants, un-mounted tires that have been immersed in flood water should be discarded. All other un-mounted tires should be inspected for debris damage by a qualified tire professional before being placed in service.
Inner tubes that have been exposed to flood waters should also be discarded."
http://www.mickeythompsontires.com/tech-bulletins/tires-and-tubes-affected-by-flood-waters
Tires that have been submerged in salt water would not likely be damaged, however, if the tire is not thoroughly cleaned before installation, the rim can become corroded. If there are other contaminants in the salt water, such as oil or other petroleum products, this could damage the tire and render it unsalable, depending on the concentration of the contaminant and time of exposure. Continental Tire the Americas, LLC recommends that a tire that has been exposed to unknown or high concentrations of petroleum products, beyond USTMA (formerly RMA) repair guidelines, be scrapped.
http://generaltire.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/863/~/psib-09-17-tires-exposed-to-salt-%2F-flood-water
So, pure water isn't what's the problem with new tires in stock, it's the unknown factor of what contaminants and the unknown trouble that might happen, and no tire maker will take a risk on getting sued. Not for what costs a tire maker 30 or 40 dollars to replace. A car owner will pay 130-200 for that tire, because of the profits that keep the industry going, but the tire makers can replace new tires fast, easy, and cheap. So, they say destroy any tires that were in a flood.
