Storm Sandy caused fire and has burned the Seaside Heights boardwalk. Experts blamed the storm that corroded the electrical wiring which caused the fire.
Floods can cause damage to electrical wiring, though not visible but it also poses risk in the future. Even a slight damage to wire’s insulator can spark that can burn house or business establishments.
Wires are composed of 2 components, the metal and the insulation which is usually made out of polyvinyl chloride.
Fresh Water can corrode the metal and salt water helps and speeds up the process.
In an article written by Jen A. Miller on National Geographic, technician use ohmmeters to check the resistance of a wire but after the storm Sandy, it can be difficult for them to tell which wire has been affected because much of the wirings used were installed for decades and may not be up to current codes.
Read full article here.