What do you do when you get stuck in a flood, in your car

There’s nothing worse than being stuck in a gully or dried culvert bed in your car, during times of flash flood. Most of such fatalities occur because people often used dry culvert beds to avoid the heavily trafficked lanes. While it is never advisable to do so, it becomes a case of Russian roulette when there’s a storm warning in place. A simple rain of just 6 inches is enough to flood the dried out culvert bed, and in a matter of moments, the flood waters can surround your car. Just check online for “Sydney metal recyclers”, and you should see cars that were stuck in the wrong place and at the wrong time.  If you are caught in a flash flood, then this is what you need to do, in order to avoid being swept away.

• Always stay on high ground: It is never a good idea to use dried river beds, gullies or canals as a highway because they were not built for that purpose. Many a car fatality had occurred, because the driver chose to use these and was later caught in flash floods, with obvious consequences. It is a good idea to stay on the higher ground as you try to get home, safe.
• Listen to the weather channel as well as other news channels: Most radio channels will provide you minute by minute updates and inform commuters what routes are flooded and what to avoid. You can use the news blurbs to plan out your route and if required, dial for help as you try and navigate your way through the flash flood.
• SAMe: It is a good idea to make sure that your car radio is enabled with SAMe or specific area message encoder. By doing so, you get access to important alerts for your current area and can stay updated on the various developments as they take place. Make sure that you tune into the NOAA weather radio channels as they can provide you with valuable information during a flash flood.
• Move to a safe spot: With flood waters raging around, try and park your car at a secure spot. Since there are flood waters all around, it makes sense to get out of the car and climb to a safe location. Make sure that you stay close to your car as it can help rescuers identify and track down your position so that they can attempt a rescue. And if the flood waters keep on getting higher, you may want to climb on to higher ground and even climb on a tree if required.
• Make sure that you have all the right numbers: it is important to update your contacts with the latest numbers to local agencies and even police. You never know when you may need these numbers, until you are stuck up on a tree, during a flash flood. Once you dial the helpline, the authorities will mount a rescue attempt but it is important to try and remain calm and not to panic, ever.

These are some of the things that you need to do when stuck in a flash flood, with your car. Always make sure that you are at higher ground. Try your best to avoid flood waters and even 6-inch flood waters can push you down. For example, Blacktown scrap metal has more than a few cars that had been caught in flash floods. What makes this poignant is the fact that most of these drivers thought they knew better until they were caught in the flash floods.