Driving Into Flood Waters |
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The majority of flood-related deaths are caused by people attempting to drive through moving water. This interactive segment explains the most common ways people die in these situations. Family Preparedness (from Tropical Storm Allison Recovery Project) |
Driven to DisasterIronically, many drivers rescued from flood waters report that they were in a hurry to get home-- to safety -- as a reason for tempting the danger of driving into water. However it looks, and despite what car commercials depict, driving into flood waters may be the most dangerous things one might ever try considering the following: Most cars will float (and be swept away) in 18-24 inches of moving water. Trucks and SUVs are not much better with only 6-12 more inches of clearance. Creeks and rivers can rise very rapidly and the road bottom can also wash away making the water much deeper than it appears. Once cars are swept downstream they are will often roll to one side or perhaps flip over entirely. The driver has a few precious seconds to escape the vehicle. In fact, many drivers panic as soon as the vehicle submerges and are found later with their seat belt intact. As the interactive segment above explains, if and when a driver escapes the vehicle, there are many more extreme dangers in wait. |
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