1. Never drive through a flooded road.
Should you: A) Hit the gas and plow through it or B) Turn around and find another route.
The correct answer is B every single time.
Driving through flood water is one of the worst decisions you can make in severe weather
situations.
First, it may be difficult to tell how deep the water is. It only takes about 1 foot of water to float a car or small SUV. Once your vehicle floats, you've lost control. You're like a boat without a motor or paddles.
Second, the road under the floodwater may have been washed away. Sometimes a culvert or
bridge is overwhelmed by water, or debris carried by the water leaving an entire section of road wiped away. This makes driving at night in areas covered by a flash flood warning particularly dangerous.
2. Flooding can happen from rain elsewhere.
You're probably familiar with larger-scale river flooding that can occur days after heavy rain
upstream. But sometimes dangerous, short-lived flash flooding can happen in an area where it hasn't rained.
This can happen in higher terrain, particularly in the mountains in summer.
A thunderstorm over mountainous terrain can send fast-moving runoff careening down the
slope. If you're hiking near a normally dry riverbed or in a slot canyon, this fast-rushing water
can be deadly.
If you're hiking or camping near a river, be aware of the weather forecast. If rain or
thunderstorms are in the forecast, know how to get to higher ground immediately, if a flash flood warning is issued.
The Weather Channel, (https://weather.com/storms/severe/news/2021-04-28-severe-weather-tornado-flash-flood-safety-lesser-known-tips) By Jonathan Erdman
April 30, 2021
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