Flood Alert
NEWS
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This page was last updated on Monday, August 20, 2007
PRESS RELEASE
26th October
Flood Alert as Ireland faces storm force winds, spring tides and heavy rain.
Ireland faces the possibility of flooding on the eastern and southern coasts over the over the next few days. This will be caused by spring tides, gale to storm force winds compounded by heavy rain.
The Chief Executive of Irish Water Safety, John Leech, has today warned about the increased risk to the public in such flood conditions.
Flood conditions expose the public to hazards they need to be aware of. Fast moving water can exert pressure of up to four times its speed against the legs of someone attempting to cross it.
Because water displaces bodyweight, the deeper a person becomes immersed the less the person weighs so the more difficult it is to remain upright.
Never put ones feet down if swept away in a flood current, because foot and body entrapments and pinning are the leading cause of accidental death in rivers.
Motorists need to be particularly vigilant to avoid flooded areas on roads but particularly near rivers. Swiftwater will carry cars and other vehicles away
He has advised the public to take the following action should you encounter these heavy flood conditions.
What should I do when I hear a Flood Warning?
Irish Water Safety, the statutory body established to promote water safety in Ireland has the following advice:
· carry a mobile phone at all times in case you need to call for help – call 112 or 999 in emergency
· Listen to the national and local radio for met eireann updates.
· Check on neighbours particularly if they are elderly, infirmed or families with young children.
· Move your vehicles to higher ground.
· Make sure you have warm clothes, food, drink, a torch and radio.
· Block doorways and airbricks with sandbags or plastic bags filled with earth.
· Switch off gas and electricity supplies if flooding is imminent.
Personal Safety
· Avoid flood water.
· Wear suitable protective clothing & a Personal Flotation Device
· Never try to swim through fast flowing water.
· Never put ones feet down if swept away
· Flooding on roads will be deeper at dips and around bridges.
· Stay away from sea and flood defences.
· Beware of manhole covers and gratings that may have been moved due to the heavy flow of water when walking or driving.
After the flood
· Avoid eating food that has been in contact with flood water.
· Run water for a few minutes and wash your taps.
· Check gas and electricity supply.
· Leave wet electrical equipment alone to dry and have it checked prior to use.
· Ventilate your property well.
Rescue in Car Accidents in the Aquatic Environment
Every year thousands of vehicles worldwide end up in the water, by accident or on purpose. About 15% of them are fatal. A study of many years, in which different kinds of passenger vehicles were driven in several ways into the water, in order to study all possible cases, led to the following interesting observations and to the establishment of real lifesaving techniques through immediate action.
OBSERVATIONS
Floating phase
The actual duration of the floating phase is different for every case/car, in function of:
· The kind of car (open/closed, large/small, minivan
etc.)
· The way of landing in the water (on 4 wheels, on the roof, sideways
etc)
· The kind of damage (with a crushed rooftop, broken windows, the
condition of the body work)
· The kind and localisation of the load
· The localisation of the motor
Sinking
Depending on the above-mentioned facts, the vehicle will sink frontward or backwards while the remaining air that keeps it floating escapes.
Positioning on the bottom
In decreasing order of quantity, the vehicles are recovered on the wheels, on the roof, on the side or nose down stuck in the mud.
Air Bubble
During the floating phase, there is as yet an air bubble that decreases as the vehicle sinks to the bottom. While the escape is prepared, and insofar as there is still air present, breathing remains possible.
In contemporary cars, equipped with a flatter rooftop compared to earlier days and with optimal air ventilation, that are recovered on their 4 wheels in more than 2.5m depth of water, an air bubble or only approx. 2 cm just under the rooftop was detected.
In cases where the rooftop was covered with maximum 50 cm water, slightly more air was detected (up to 5cm). This remaining air is very difficult to detect, due to the sagging of the rooftop's wet soft furnishing.
Only with the knowledge of certain techniques, can this remaining air bubble be used for breathing. With vehicles that were detected in different positioning, more of less no air remained inside.
Electrically operated windows and doors
Will sooner or later no longer function, but this will not necessarily immediately follow the plunge, considering that the concerned equipment is well protected against water. Opening the doors or breaking the windows with a "rescue hammer" or with the bottom of a fire extinguisher is difficult but still possible.
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS TO TAKE
· The lifesaving escape has to be planned and prepared,
while breathing in the available air bubble.
· Avoid panic by remaining calm and giving clear instructions
· Remove the safety belts, of the children in the baby seats as
well
· Place the small children with those who will leave the vehicle
first.
Abandon the vehicle AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. Survival chances decrease
as the car sinks deeper
· Open the SIDE WINDOWS
In case this doesn't work, break them with the UNDERSIDE of the fire extinguisher,
or better, with a "rescue hammer". As long as the vehicle floats,
this will succeed after several energetic efforts. Using the fire extinguisher
is very difficult under water. NEVER try to break the windshield because
it is made out of layers glass. WATCH OUT! The rear side of window can
often only be opened half way (child protection), which makes escaping
through them very difficult, if not impossible.
· In case escape through the side windows does NOT succeed; the
DOORS are also an escape possibility. Open the lock. Push very powerfully
with shoulder and arm against the door till it opens. Because of the counter
pressure of the water this WILL NOT be easy. Even with all air gone from
the car, a lot of power is needed to succeed in this. In case the vehicle
is still floating, the water will now strongly flow inside, thus shortening
the floating time drastically.
· The BEST SWIMMERS or INITIATORS abandon the car FIRST. They hold
on to the roof edge with both hands. Backwards, head first, face up; they
pull themselves out, holding on to the car.
· Subsequently the other passengers are pulled out of the vehicle,
in so far they did not escape already in the same way.
· In anticipation of getting everybody out of the car, the needy
can be put on the roof of the car if it is still floating or has sunk
in shallow water.
· Then lead the needy ONE BY ONE to the shore.
· REMARK:
When it is only possible to leave the vehicle under water (sinking or
sunk), it is important to keep contact with the car if remaining passengers
in the car are to be rescued. Breathing in air at the surface and then
diving back is only possible in very limited depth.
WHAT ACTIONS CAN WITNESSES TAKE?
Call on help is a must, but will probably come too late.
Real help can only be given by going into the water.
· Because a floating vehicle behaves as a boat, one
can try to pull it closer to the shore with some kind of rope or a human
chain.
· In case the passengers do not open either door or window, a side
window has to be crushed or a door has to be opened by supporting both
feet on the framework and pulling the door handle very hard.
· Further actions depend on the physical condition and the aquatic
experience of the lifesaver.
Following the above-mentioned directives gives passengers of vehicles that get into the water real survival chances.
Further information on water safety can be obtained by contacting:
Irish Water Safety Association, The Long Walk, and Galway.
LoCall: 1890.420.202 / Tel: 091-56.44.00
/ Mobile: 087-6789600/1
Email: info@iws.ie Website: www.iws.ie