The county’s Swift Water Rescue Team aided occupants in a car trapped by high water on Bradley Boulevard Aug. 1. Photo courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue responded last Wednesday, Aug. 1, to the report of a vehicle in high water on Bradley Blvd.
At 1:28 a.m. the Swift Water Rescue Team posted photos after successfully removing the occupants of a car trapped in the creek which covered the road on Bradley east of Kentsdale Drive. The Swift Water Rescue Team was assisted by other units from Montgomery County Fire and Rescue and from the National Institutes of Health.
An average of 75 people have died in the U.S. from flash floods each year from 2004-2013. According to the National Weather Service, an average of 75 people have died from flash floods each year from 2004-2013.
“The single worst decision you can make in a flash flood is driving your vehicle into floodwaters of unknown depth,” according to Weather.com website. “It's easy to misjudge the depth of floodwater, particularly at night. Sometimes the bridge or road masked by flood water may have been undermined or completely washed out.”
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on weather.com:
"Six inches of water will reach the bottom of most passenger cars, causing loss of control and potential stalling.
A foot of water will float many vehicles.
Two feet of rushing water will carry away most vehicles, including SUVs and pickups.
Once your vehicle is floating, the floodwater becomes your steering wheel. If that water is moving, your vehicle could be swept away, tipped on its side or flipped."
As the National Weather Service has campaigned for years: "Turn around, don't drown."