Don't drive through flood waters

“We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Almost half of all flash flood deaths happen inside vehicles because drivers think they can drive through “shallow” water. Just six inches of moving water is deep enough to knock people off their feet and for small cars to loose control. One foot of water can carry away the average car. Two feet of water will float most vehicles including SUVs and pickup trucks.

The video here shows how quickly moving water can destroy a road. Fast forward through the first minute. By minute two the road is collapsing. If the water level were higher and covered the road after the collapse, you’d have no idea that a piece of the road was gone if you tried to drive thorough it.

Flooded River Destroys Road In Minutes

Bottom Line

For more information on driving through flood waters, check out
www.cararticles.co.uk/uk-water-flood-driving-advice.html

If your car stalls or begins to drift while driving through water, do not stay in the car. Get out immediately. If your car becomes submerged you may have to wait for the car to fill with water before you’re able to open the car door. (Water is heavier than air and pushes against the car doors.) Don’t panic, hold your breath, and swim out.

If you are swept into moving floodwater, float on your back and try to point your feet downstream and protect your head from collisions.