Community Chat

[Shorty2U]

I am sure most or all know this, but never ever drive in standing water. We had pouring rain here earlier in PA and many roads flooded immediately and some roads buckled. 

Tragically, a pregnant woman and her child were in a car in the water, and the woman called for help. They found her and her child dead in the car later on, after frantically trying to find her car.

I was reading the text from fire alerts (here in our county), as the call came in and as they posted about  searching and searching for her car. (Even had a helicopter in the air) It was horrifying just reading it. I was praying they'd find them alive.  

Also another woman was rescued from her car when water was up to the top. She made it, but sadly the pregnant mom and child did not.

I feel so bad, cant imagine what they went through in those last minutes, and feel bad for their family. Just terribly sad! 

(And when I say don't drive in standing water, I am not blaming the victims. I am just trying to warn others so this doesn't happen to anyone else)

[Witchy Woman]

@Shorty2U 

So sad and terrible.  

We've had flash floods in Maryland and many people trapped needing rescue.

[catter70]

I saw that this morning on my local news channel, WFMZ. Such a shame. It sounded like no matter how she tried to get around, all the roads we basically flooded. The pictures of local areas and the amounts of water they got was really bad. 

[CinNC]

We had something similar in NC during Hurricane Florence. 

"A mother charged with the death of her baby who died when floodwaters swept him away during Tropical Storm Florence pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of misdemeanor death by vehicle.

Her 15-month-old son drowned in the rushing water and Lee was charged with felony involuntary manslaughter.

At the time, the Union County sheriff said the decision to charge the 20-year-old mother came because she knowingly drove around the barricades on Highway 218.

Lee said she continued driving around the barricades after she saw other drivers doing so.

She then got stuck in the flood waters, tried to get her son out of his car seat but lost her grip on him. Lee said she did not know how to swim"

[Meowingkitty]

We have a Stupid Motorist Law in Arizona.  If they catch you driving around a barricade you can be fined.

[Eileen in Virginia]

We’ve had torrential rains here in the DC area and I was shocked at the number of people who had to be rescued from their vehicles, especially after being warned against driving through standing water. The Metropolitan Police had to use rafts to rescue some folks who were trapped in their cars on Constitution Avenue! Reporters showed a couple of drivers in a Maryland suburb who got trapped in their cars when the water engulfed them - they didn’t try to drive through standing water, it came to them. They couldn’t open their car windows to escape because their cars’ electrical systems had shorted out. There was a teenager in Northern Virginia who was helping secure his community pool. He said the water’s depth went from his ankles to his knees in 5 minutes.

If you have advance warning of flash flooding, stay off the roads. Besides flooding, there may be trees falling down, frequently taking power lines with them. Huge trenches opened on roads that weren’t built to withstand that amount of rushing water. Many employees can arrange to work from home under these circumstances. Better safe than sorry. 

[Kachina624]

At the very least, should you escape serious injury or death, you will ruin the engine in your car.  My last words to my son who was borrowing my car on a rainy day, was don't drive through any water.  Of course he did and a new engine was over $6,000.  Water gets sucked up the tailpipe and locks up the engine.  It can't be repaired.

[ItsME]

@Kachina624  Fortunately, they were your last words to him before that outing.  Not your last words to him.  

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@Kachina624 wrote:

At the very least, should you escape serious injury or death, you will ruin the engine in your car.  My last words to my son who was borrowing my car on a rainy day, was don't drive through any water.  Of course he did and a new engine was over $6,000.  Water gets sucked up the tailpipe and locks up the engine.  It can't be repaired.

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[chrystaltree]

I don't understand the concept of  "blaming the victim".  Sometimes victims are responsible or partially responsible for their own plights and often telling truth saves others from suffering the same fate.  They always caution people before, during and after about driving through standing water and flooded areas but still, people will do it.  I suppose there is a tendancy for some people to think the laws of nature don't really apply to them.  Whether it's a huge devastating flood or local flash flooding;  the fool hardy will jump in their cars.  So yes, don't try to drive through floods.  Also, don't wait until the very last minute to get to safety.  I don't understand that either.  We know the dangers risks days before now so why do people wait until the the water is 4 feet high before they leave?  

[Mj12]

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@Eileen in Virginia wrote:

We’ve had torrential rains here in the DC area and I was shocked at the number of people who had to be rescued from their vehicles, especially after being warned against driving through standing water. The Metropolitan Police had to use rafts to rescue some folks who were trapped in their cars on Constitution Avenue! Reporters showed a couple of drivers in a Maryland suburb who got trapped in their cars when the water engulfed them - they didn’t try to drive through standing water, it came to them. They couldn’t open their car windows to escape because their cars’ electrical systems had shorted out. There was a teenager in Northern Virginia who was helping secure his community pool. He said the water’s depth went from his ankles to his knees in 5 minutes.

If you have advance warning of flash flooding, stay off the roads. Besides flooding, there may be trees falling down, frequently taking power lines with them. Huge trenches opened on roads that weren’t built to withstand that amount of rushing water. Many employees can arrange to work from home under these circumstances. Better safe than sorry. 

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@Eileen in Virginia  yes -the storms on Monday - I've never seen anything like it.  

Assume you've seen this picture from Canal Road on Monday?