Why You Shouldn’t Swim in Flood Water & Other Safety Tips

Santa Cruz, CA. 1//4/2023

I used to work as a diver. Years ago, I’d scrape the ghost shrimp, crustacea, and otherarthropods off of all the little boats in Sausalito until my arms couldn’t take anymore. One dayat work, after a particularly nasty spat of storm activity, I climbed out of the water and wasconfronted by a concerned boat owner.

“Excuse me, did you see the new sign?” He politely asked.

“Huh?”

And he pointed to a hastily erected sign at the dock entrance.

“CAUTION: RAW SEWAGE ALERT”

Oh! How delightful! I had all but suppressed this memory until the recent deluge that has saturated the Bay Areathis last week.

Viral videos emerged of surfers paddling down the street in San Francisco, a boytubing down East Oakland, and however many more people splashing through the flooding likea day at the water park.

So, this might be a good time to take stock of just what’s in the waterthat will surely fill the streets again this week, with a historic storm headinginto town that has, as of Tuesday, been upgraded to the highest category: Level 5 storm.

According to the CDC, floodwaters carry a high risk of contaminants from a number of harmfulsubstances, such as human and animal waste, industrial and household chemical runoff,arsenic, chromium, mercury, rats, and snakes. Exposure to these could leave one facing themost undesirable of maladies: wound infection, skin rash, tetanus, a bout of E. coli, and for thetruly unlucky: leptospirosis (a bacterial blood infection that can result in meningitis orpulmonary bleeding). To make matters worse, any loose, sharp objects such as used needles orbroken car window glass may also be present. In short, floodwater is nasty business.

If for some reason you do find yourself forced to wade through this, there are several ways tomitigate the risks. For starters, cover any open wounds with a waterproof bandage. If exposuredoes occur, thoroughly clean the wound, and even better, clean any part of the body thatencountered the water. Remain alert to any signs of infection, and it never hurts to check withyour provider on the status of your tetanus vaccination. More information can be found atcdc.gov.

The National Weather Service is predicting a storm in size that will deliver significant damageand disruption to the Bay Area, so it is also advisable to take other precautions, especially as itrelates to driving. ABC Meteorologist Drew Tuma warns on Twitter:

Additionally, NWS states: “Forecast rainfall over already saturated soils will result in widespreadflooding impacts region-wide. Of greatest concern will be the flooding of rivers, creeks,streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. This will also result in extensive streetflooding in portions of the Bay Area and Central Coast. Additionally, these conditions will alsolead to an increased threat of widespread shallow landslides. Thus, a Flood Watch also remainsin effect through the duration of this event.”

Needless to say, submerged driving conditions are to be expected, and this can often result intravel hiccups such as being swept out to sea. It is near impossible to gauge just exactly howdeep flood water is, and it takes a surprisingly little amount to sweep a car away, which, unlessyour Honda has a rudder, is an unfortunate scenario. The majority of flood-relatedcasualties are a result of miscalculating depth, and according to the National Weather Service itonly takes a mere 12 inches of fast-moving water to carry away a sedan, and 2 feet for mostSUVS. Water can be surprisingly deceptive.

Take for instance in Los Angeles during severe storm weather in December 2021, three carswere casually removed without permission from their parking space in Downtown. Not from atow truck or theft, but a torrent of floodwater passing through, and one of them was last seencrumpled along a pier several miles away. Luckily, they were unoccupied. But this situation issurprisingly more common than one might think, and can often have deadly outcomes.

Do not take this as alarmist, or that I’m hinting you begin preparations of a will before thestorm reaches landfall. The dangers of flash floods present more in areas near lakes and riverswith rugged terrain and lack of infrastructure. So, if you live in Nob Hill, you can probably feel atease. The real point of this, however, is just a friendly reminder to slow down.

California drivers have many nostalgic pastimes, and crashing into each other is at the top ofthe list. And that’s on a clear day. The deep-standing freeway water will amplify the risk ofhydroplaning by multitudes, so I implore you, dear reader, to drive as if your Grandmother is inthe backseat holding a crock-pot filled to the brim with her famous chili.

Lastly, as Grandmothers love to say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So as aCalifornian it’s always advisable to have a “go-bag” in case you must leave with an extremesense of urgency, be this in the case of a fire, flood, or surprise visit from the in-laws. It’s alsoprudent to sign up for emergency broadcast alerts through your community, be prepared forroad closures, fill up your gas tank, have batteries charged, and extra food, check your insurancepolicies, and document the current state of your property for reference.

If you have elderly loved ones, ensure they have medical buffering for any power outages.And please, promise me that you won’t go wakeboarding down Hwy 1.

Stay safe out there.

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