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Come hell and high water: driving in floods risky
A shorter version of this story currently appears in the April issue of Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine.

By Marty Kufus

Television commercials imply it, and some motorists might believe it: That pickup truck or sport-utility vehicle — muscularly equipped with a big engine, four-wheel drive, and a high ground clearance — can go anywhere.

But this notion sometimes is wrong, and a motorist who attempts to cross flood water risks being dead wrong.

The trouble starts when the ford gets unexpectedly deep, the current strong. Then the engine dies. After that, it’s all hydraulics.

Water is heavy. At 8.3 pounds per gallon, that amounts to about 62 pounds per cubic foot. It flows downhill at six to 12 miles per hour (sometimes more in floods).

Factoring in a vehicle’s temporary buoyancy, which includes the air in its tires, a stalled vehicle “loses” 1,500 pounds of weight for every foot of water’s depth pushing against it.

At some point, the vehicle might begin to float downstream — and maybe roll over.

“Even six inches of fast-moving flood water can knock you off your feet, and a depth of two feet will float your car,” the National Weather Service warns.

Flash floods, real killers in Texas, occur within six hours of a major rain event. Nationally, an estimated 140 to 200 people die in flash floods every year and many, while driving.

“The most common causes of drowning in swift water are cars crossing flooded roadways and being swept away, and children playing near flooded creeks. Many others are would-be citizen rescuers,” says Slim Ray, a consultant to Rescue 3 International, which trains emergency personnel across the nation and at several Texas locations. (Its Web site is at www.rescue3.com.)

There’s danger for emergency personnel, too. “An average of three professional rescuers drown each year [nationwide] while attempting a swift-water rescue,” Ray says.

Even specially trained and equipped personnel can do only so much in a vast state like Texas whose rivers, coast, arroyos, and concrete-filled urban areas all are susceptible to floods.

San Antonio probably is the state’s most flash flood-prone metropolitan area.

In the devastating South Texas flood of October 1998, the city’s firefighters rescued 461 people. But 11 people died after their vehicles entered the water, according to an official report on San Antonio’s flood.

Survival tips

While every flood is different, here are some general guidelines:

•Heed emergency warnings broadcast on local radio and TV stations.

•Never drive around an official traffic-control barricade. That’s foolish — and it’s a misdemeanor offense under state law.

•Never drive into water unless you are absolutely certain it is shallow — no more than a few inches deep — and slow. Also be sure the roadway is undamaged and clear of debris, and that you know where the edge of the road ends. (Night is the most dangerous time.) Otherwise, ignore impatient drivers behind you and turn around — or wait.

If your vehicle is stranded in water:

•Don’t freeze. Remove your seat belt. Even if you have a cellular phone, don’t get locked into the hope rescuers will get to you in time. (Emergency personnel ruefully call this the “911 attitude.”)

The weather service urges, “If the vehicle stalls, leave it immediately and seek higher ground. Rapidly rising water may engulf the vehicle and its occupants and sweep them away.”

•If you are swept downstream, get out of and away from your vehicle, which will eventually sink or roll over onto its side or roof. (Exception: If the water has crested at a few feet, the current is not strong, and your vehicle no longer is moving, it might make sense to stay on the roof.)

Walk, crawl, or swim to shore or, failing that, to a solid, upright tree (but watch for snakes and fire ants in the branches). Avoid debris piles, which not only are unstable but also can catch, trap, and drown a swimmer in the relentless current.

The best advice of all: Don’t go into the flood, even if you’re inconvenienced.

Before you get in that four-wheel drive, forget the TV commercials and ask yourself: Is this trip really worth the risk?

WCN editor and free-lance writer Marty Kufus is a member of the Floresville Volunteer Fire Department and Wilson County Volunteer Emergency Response Team. He has completed swift-water rescue courses conducted by Rescue 3 International.

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