10 essential rainy season items for your car

The rainy season is upon us! As heavy rains lash Malaysia for the next few months, roads will undoubtedly flood. Although it is best to avoid flooded areas, it is not always possible. And if you do get stranded, it may take a while to be rescued. So, be sure to have these 10 crucial rainy season items for your car!

Whistles and lights attract attention

There is nothing like the sound of a whistle or a bright light when it comes to attracting attention. Shouting, screaming, and banging is nowhere near as loud or ear-grabbing.  Another advantage of a whistle is that you can also use a whistle so long as you can breathe. If you also have a portable light, you can just shine it in the direction of the rescue team. So if you get stranded, a whistle and a portable light are your best bet of getting heard or seen by rescuers.

A raincoat or two

If you need to get out of your car when it rains, the first thing you may want to reach for is an umbrella. But in a flood, grabbing an umbrella may not be the best move. Raincoats are a much better option, as using a raincoat also gives you an advantage over an umbrella by keeping your hands free. That way if you slip or need to grab hold of something, you have both hands available.

A pair of rubber boots

Remember those yellow rubber boots you saw on TV? They’re real! And you’ll need them too if you must make your way through floodwaters. These boots not only keep your feet dry, but they also protect you from unseen hazardous items in the water.

Floodwaters are also dangerous for another reason: electric current. Fallen telephone and electric poles may still have a current running through them and would discharge into the water. If you have rubber boots on, the electricity cannot reach you as rubber is an insulator and therefore does not conduct electricity. To be safe, do not approach any fallen electric poles or electrical installations submerged in water. If you are in the vicinity of any submerged electrical installation, leave the area and avoid touching anything as the current will discharge through you and electrocute you.

A first-aid kit

Floodwaters carry with them all sorts of objects that can cut, bruise, or otherwise injure you. These items are unsurprisingly, unsanitary and could transfer germs into an injury. These injuries need to be cleaned and treated to prevent a life-threatening infection from developing. As they say, prevention is better than cure.

Your first aid kit should have:

• Examination gloves
• Adhesive bandages
• Medical tape
• Cold compresses
• Medical scissors
• Tweezers
• Gauze pads
• Gauze rolls
• Triangular bandages
• Alcohol pads
• Antiseptic towelettes

Power banks

When it comes to flooding, you have no idea how long you’ll be stranded. To ensure you can call 999 for help, your phone needs to be charged. A power bank can extend the battery life of your phone by several hours, which could be crucial in contacting the authorities and a rescue team.

The power bank’s flashlight can also be useful to attract the attention of rescuers at night should your phone die.

Cash

As we head towards digitalisation, having a bit of cash alongside our digital wallets is not a bad idea. Your phone can be unusable for a variety of reasons, from being turned into a brick after being submerged in water, the battery running out of charge, or even the phone lines being down. With a bit of cash, you can pay for food, water, and lodging after getting out of the flood area.

Ziplock bags

Normally used to keep foodstuff, ziplock bags can help save your non-waterproof essentials. If the water is beginning to rise, putting your valuables and your phone in a ziplock bag may keep them dry. This could mean the difference between a quick rescue and a slow one. Any cash you might have would also be kept dry and not reduced to mush by the flood waters.

Or better yet, get one of those fancy phone ziplock bags which you can hang around your neck. That way your phone can stay dry and you are less likely to lose it.

Bottled water

When it floods, traditional sources of clean water can be contaminated. This is why having clean bottled water to drink is important to stay hydrated. A clean source of drinking water is also important as water-borne diseases spread readily after a flood. Deadly diseases like cholera and dysentery spread through the consumption of contaminated water.

Food

Food is vital to keep your wits about you and give you energy. This is needed should you need to wade through water, call for help, even think of a plan, or even keep warm. Non-perishable energy bars can fill your tummy for a few hours while you wait for rescue or the flood waters to subside. Check them every month to be sure nothing expires.

Towels and blankets

Staying high and dry is crucial during flood events and there’s nothing better to dry yourself off with than a towel. Staying dry means you stay warm and also makes waiting more manageable. You can also wrap yourself with a blanket to stay warm or put it on a hard surface to make sitting and waiting more comfortable.

And that’s the list! All of these things can make your unfortunate stranding experience a lot more pleasant. So do make sure you have these 10 rainy season items in your car!

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