Typhoon Jebi made landfall with Japan early last week and caused absolute carnage at an authorized Ferrari dealership on Rokko Island.
The artificial island in the city of Kobe was crippled by the strongest typhoon to hit Japan since 1993 and three feet of water rushed into the dealerships.
Yahoo Japan reports that the storm surge destroyed no less than 51 of 53 new and used Ferraris which were housed at the dealership, some of which had already been purchased. Workers at the facility attempted to block the storm surge with tarps and sandbags but were unsuccessful in their attempts.
Saltwater ultimately found its way into the dealership, taking with it the lives of many very-expensive Ferraris and forcing the dealer to truck them away to be scrapped. The combined value of the destroyed vehicles is approximately $9 million.
Local media says the dealership will look to reclaim its losses through insurance but even if it does get a generous payout, business will be severely affected for quite some time.
As disheartening as stories like this are, they aren’t all that rare. Floods, especially those in the United States, frequently destroy many prized automobiles which are sent straight to the scrap yard to be either destroyed or auctioned off.
Last year, up to 1 million vehicles in the United States were destroyed by Hurricane Harvey.
While repairing a flooded car is technically possible, it is extremely expensive and often involves rebuilding the engine and transmission and potentially, rewiring much of the vehicle.
https://t.co/0Ez8JcgADp Japan: Tajfun uništio 51 Ferrari pic.twitter.com/kdyADuTaot
— News Blic (@newsblic50) September 7, 2018