Nissan RE-LEAF is emergency mobile power station

Hurricane-struck and other natural disaster regions could soon see vehicles like the Nissan RE-LEAF emergency response car come to their rescue.

Created to restore temporary power to disaster-stricken areas, the Japanese car-maker says the prototype Nissan RE-LEAF can provide electricity for up to 24 hours, offering a source of power for life-supporting medical equipment or large search lights needed by rescuers.

On average, Nissan claims that if a natural disaster strikes it takes engineers between 24-48 hours to restore power, providing a need for emergency response vehicles like the RE-LEAF.

Like the standard EV hatch, bi-directional charging allows the RE-LEAF to draw on, and supply, electricity to the grid.

Featuring three 230-volt connectors – two waterproof sockets on the car's exterior and one domestic socket mounted within the boot – the RE-LEAF 62kWh battery pack has enough muscle, Nissan says, to power an electric jack hammer, a ventilation fan, intensive care ventilator and a 100-watt LED flood light at the same time for 24 hours straight before needing to be recharged.

Plugged into an average European home, the RE-LEAF can power a household for around six days.

Tailoring the standard LEAF hatch for debris-littered roads, Nissan has fitted the RE-LEAF with lifted suspension, underbody armour and tough 17-inch wheels that sport BF Goodrich all-terrain tyres.

There's no all-wheel drive, but a wider track, along with its 70mm raised ride height, plus off-road tyres, should see it go further than the regular hatch when the going gets rough.

Externally, there's also roof-mounted strobe lights, mud flaps and a set of flared wheel-arches.

Inside, the rear bench seat has been binned to boost its carrying capacity and package a pull-out desk and large 32-inch monitor to turn the Re-LEAF into a mobile communications hub.

If the idea of the RE-LEAF seems far-fetched. It shouldn't.

Back in 2011, Nissan supplied 66 LEAFs to medical workers responding to Japan's strongest-ever earthquake. Back then, the LEAFs were used to power heaters, lighting and medical equipment.

In 2019, the Nissan LEAF also leapt to the rescue in the aftermath of Typhoon Faxai that caused mass blackouts in Chiba, Japan. That natural disaster left more than 340,000 households without power for three days, with the fleet of LEAFs powering lights, fridges and electrical devices.