In Connecticut, August 1955, there was a Bad Hurricane lots of flooding, Hurricane Connie
My Uncle & a Buddy bought some flood cars,
He would buy them from the Vehicle's Owner, after removing the spark plugs & using a battery to get rid of the flood water inside the engine.
they would use a chain & tow them back to the Farm, or my Uncles Buddies property
Back then, many of the cars were 6 volt.
I would help my Uncle, clean out the cars, i was 12 years old, i was told to keep an eye out for Rats
I never saw anything alive, but my other Uncle's dog Pudgy was always at my side, he was a good Rat dog

I do not remember if disease was mentioned, my Grandmother had lots of Epson's Salt
I had another Uncle, that had a Auto Wrecking yard.
I would ride with my My Uncle to the wrecking yard to get parts, like the front & rear seats
The flood cars Battery was taken to the wrecking yard, to dump out, flush a couple of times & fresh Electrolyte would be poured in, then it would get put on a charger.
If it was damaged, there were plenty of batteries in vehicles that were there
These days, people are not taught about water getting in the Combustion Chamber.
They just try to start the flooded engine, BIG mistake !!