Cyclone Dana looms: How you can keep your car safe

Cyclone Dana has been making headlines across India over the last few days. The tropical cyclone is expected to turn into a severe cyclonic storm in the next few hours, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said. This storm is expected to turn severe before landfall between the West Bengal and Odisha coasts on Friday, October 25. During the storm, the coastal regions of West Bengal and Odisha, as well as cities like Kolkata and Bhubaneswar along with their surrounding districts, will experience a wind speed of about 120 kmph, when the storm makes landfall on Friday.

1 Avoid parking car in open

Parking your car in the open during a severe cyclonic storm is a strictly avoidable step. Keeping it in the open ground during storms can result in multiple disasters. Flying debris, large chunks of broken tree brunches or an uprooted tree can damage the vehicle severely. The extremely strong wind can move the vehicle from its place in severe cases. Hence, always try to park the car under a roof or in a covered parking. If you don't find covered parking and really need to park the car in the open, use a good quality car cover, or place a heavy blanket or area rug over the vehicle. Also, it is better to keep the tyres chained or keep bricks positioned at the front and rear of the tyres to ensure the car doesn't move from its position.

2 Avoid parking under tree or power grid

During a storm, avoid parking the car under trees or power lines. During severe storms, the sheer wind speed may result in uprooting the tree or tearing the power lines and they may fall on the vehicle, which will severely damage the car. Instead try to park the car tight against a house to provide some deflection of wind away from the vehicle.

3 Avoid parking in low lying areas

Avoid parking your car in low-lying areas where waterlogging is a common problem in case of heavy rain. In case of severe storms and heavy rainfall, the low-lying areas can witness major waterlogging, which may result in damage to the car. Water entering the vehicle's intricate mechanical systems or into the cabin of the car could result in major damage, which could be a really costly affair to repair. Also, in some cases, it could be beyond repair as well.

4 Avoid driving through flooded roads

Firstly, during the storm, do not drive the car unless you really have to. Driving the car during severe storms and rainfall could be dangerous. If you really have to drive, always avoid driving through the flooded roads. It becomes quite difficult to accurately judge the water level, patches and potholes lying underwater, even if you know the road pretty well. Hence driving through the flooded roads can result in your car getting stuck there and it could easily damage the engine and stall the vehicle.

5 Keep insurance papers handy

Last but not least in this list is make sure to check your car insurance document to see if flood or storm damage is covered under the policy. Also, keep a copy of the car insurance policy document handy with you, which may become useful in case any damage occurs to the vehicle due to the storm.

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