I found the above video today on Facebook. It shows someone driving along a rainy California highway, when all of a sudden water takes over the roadway, inexorably making it's way towards the car. The driver, seeing this, smartly puts his or her car in reverse, and backs away from the water, until he or she sees a place to turn around and get out of there, which they eventually do.
I have to say the comments for the above video, taken from KSL TV 5's Facebook page, were very interesting. Most people laughed this video off, basically saying it's no big deal and implying that the water wasn't very high, and should have been easily driven through. What was clear from that video was the absolute ignorance of the people commenting on the video, and the intelligence of whoever was driving that day. Here is what to do if you ever find yourself in that situation.
First off, a bit about flash floods. Flash floods, which is what was going on in this video, are floods that occur very quickly because of a large amount of rain has fallen nearby. The ground is unable to absorb the amount of rain that has fallen, and the valleys or washes that the rain would normally go through are not large enough to handle that much water. As a result, the water level rises very rapidly, and goes by very quickly, so that what was dry land a minute ago, can be a raging torrent five minutes later. People in the canyonlands of the American Southwest die regularly as a result of flash floods. If you doubt the danger of them, or have never heard of them, let me show you a couple of things. The first are some pictures I took of Lower Antelope Canyon, which is a canyon near Page, Arizona.
Hopefully you can get a glimpse of how deep this canyon is. There are spots, such as the two I photographed above, where the canyon rim has to be close to 80 feet above the floor. That should mean that any water that flows through there would stay at the bottom right? Not really, check out this video of a flash flood in the very same canyon I took the above photographs in. This flood was about two years before my visit:
Remember, the canyon floor is in some places 80 feet below the rim, yet the water that is running through it in this video is over the top of the rim. Also notice how fast the water is running through the canyon. Flash floods are no joke, I have heard of stories of people getting caught in canyons just like Antelope Canyon when a flood hits. Sometimes they live, but usually they die. And if you needed another reminder about how fast the water goes, Craig Childs tells the story in his excellent book, A Secret History of Water, that when flash flood victims are found (which they many times aren't), they are completely naked. This isn't because they went skinny dipping, it's because the water literally ripped their clothes off. Hopefully that gives you some indication of the force of the water that can be found in a flash flood.
Ok, so what does this have to do with driving, or the original video? Well, knowing what you now know about flash floods, hopefully you can see why they are no joke, and why you shouldn't try to drive through them. Sure, in the first video, the water wasn't moving too fast in the beginning, and you might think your truck or car can make it though, but remember the hallmark of a flash flood, that first word: flash. They happen quickly, often without any warning at all. So the driver in the first video could have just driven through as he or she might have only seen that the water was only up to about the level of the car's lugnuts when he or she first saw the water. But as NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ) reports, it only takes a foot of water to cause most vehicles to float, so the higher the water gets, the more the car and everyone in it are truly just passengers on a ride they don't want to be on. If the water is flowing quickly, they will be swept to wherever it's going, and that could mean pinned against a rock wall as the water rises, pushed over the bridge into a river, or swept away to tumble over and over being struck by rocks and tree trunks. If you read the last sentence and found yourself wondering if those people would survive that ordeal, the answer is most likely no. The only way to truly assure yourself of survival is to respect flash floods and not enter into any area where there could be one.
The way you avoid the danger of flash floods or flooding in general is to first off be aware that they are possible. You can be miles away from the nearest canyon, like the driver in the first video was, and have a flood take over a road. Know that floods can happen, and don't drive unaware of the area around you. How many people noticed the large brush pile that was pushed up against the right side of the bridge as the driver went past it? That brush pile was put there by flood waters. If you see signs of a high water level, like that, be prepared to take quick action to avoid water and keep yourself safe. You very well might be able to drive past a bridge like that and never have the water enter the road, but being prepared for it means that you will be able to keep yourself, and the people you drive with, safe.
If you do see that water has entered the road, and it's rising, do what the above driver did, and get out of there. True, the water was low when he entered, but it rises quickly, especially if it's still raining. The driver in the first video did the right thing. He backed up until he could find a spot to turn around, then he got as far away as he could from the floodwaters. In case you are tempted to cross a flooded road or a wash, remember that not only can it very likely cost you thousands of dollars in repair costs (the car's computer is normally located beneath the front passenger seat, if it gets wet, it needs to be replaced, along with a good chunk of the car's electrical system. That bill will not be small), but if you get stuck and have to be pulled out by police, you will be fined in many states. Here in Arizona, we have something called the Stupid Motorist Law, which is a law which fines drivers who drive through a flooded wash, get stuck, and have to be pulled out by police or fire officials. The fine is very large, and very much not worth the extra time it might take you to wait or find another route.
The bottom line is to drive safely, and respect nature. No matter how large and heavy your vehicle, running water, especially flood waters, are larger and heavier. It is a battle you will most likely lose, so don't fight it. Respect flood waters, and either wait them out or find another way that doesn't take you through a flood. Until next time...
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