Another Australian Flood Tragedy
There has been another tragic death of a motorist entering floodwater overnight in the Australian state of Victoria. This follows a confirmed death and another death presumed after flooding in the Northern Territory (NT) in recent weeks. The details of the deaths have been reported in the media as:
- 63 year old male baker driving to work, entered floodwaters at 2am and was swept from a causeway near Seymour in Victoria (4 Jan 2016).
- 59 year old woman travelling in a car with four other people when the vehicle became stranded in a Creek, 100 kilometres east of Katherine (NT). The woman was unable to escape the car and drowned (28 Dec 2015).
- 28 year old man is presumed dead after travelling with two others when their vehicle was washed from a river crossing near Peppimenarti on Christmas night about 100km from Daly River (NT). His companions were able to reach safety to seek help about 10pm (24 Dec 2015).
Twenty four deaths have also occurred during recent flooding to strike the US Midwest, with most resulting from vehicles entering floodwaters. The threat of further fatalities exists as flooding continues to threaten communities in both countries. Motorists need to be aware of the dangers of entering floodwater, and follow the advice of emergency services. The inconvenience of finding a longer route is surely not as significant as risking lives. Clearly cars and floods do not mix.
Risk Frontiers at Macquarie University is funded by the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Research Centre to review the circumstances of flood fatalities in Australia since 1900. We have recently presented our thoughts about how the adoption of a holistic approach may reduce future flood fatalities. Find out more at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284043022_How_do_we_reduce_vehicle_related_deaths_Exploring_Australian_Flood_Fatalities_1900-2105
Senior Principal - Flood and Emergency Risk Management at HARC: FIEAust, CPEng, NER, RPEQ, RPEV
9 年Unfortunately the messages doesn't appear to be getting through with another death in Qld over the weekend.
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9 年Paul is Australia all under water now? is like Venice and you go around in boats now.
Floodplain Risk Management Specialist
9 年Do we know if road closed signs were in place on this crossing? I know permanent flood depth indicators are in place. I believe given the frequency that this road overtops the risk should have been well understood and the appropriate actions rolled out according to the flood emergency plan. That crossing is a very low foord with no guard rails, depths and velocities would have been significantly high. I guess this highlights the need to have well planned, clearly documented emergency plans that are effectively communicated with assigned responsibilities. As others have said, there is still the issue of communicating the risk to the community, and unfortunately we still need to improve that aspect of emergency response. But no matter how good we as an industry get at the communication, it is a two way thing, and requires the public to listen, take responsibility and make the right decision.
Flood Consulting | Author | Digital Artist
9 年Maybe we should make driving through flooded waters part of acquiring a drivers license. With current technology, a virtual flood event could part of the testing process.