[Skywarn] Soapbox: We need to better educate on flooding...

[Greg Williams]

This report from CNN.com tell the story of why flash floods kill more people
per year than tornadoes.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WEATHER/05/01/texas.rains/index.html

Here are brief quotes from that article:

Three adults and three children drowned when their vehicles were swept off
roads after a wave of thunderstorms washed across North Texas late Friday
and early Saturday, law enforcement officials said.

In Corsicana, about 50 miles south of Dallas, two adults and two toddlers
died: a 33-year-old man when his vehicle was swept off the road; and a
father with his two young sons, who also got trapped in a vehicle.

At about 1:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. ET), the Corsicana Police Department recovered
the bodies of the two boys -- ages 1 and 2.
Their father drowned trying to rescue the children before his vehicle washed
down the flooded Post Oak Creek, Corsicana Police Department spokesman Sgt.
Lewis Palos said.

The body of the 33-year-old man was recovered in Corsicana about 7:05 a.m.
(8:05 a.m.) in a pasture about a quarter-mile from where his vehicle went
off the road, police said.

In Fort Worth, Texas, a mother and her 2-year-old son also drowned when
their vehicle got caught in floodwaters, the Fort Worth Fire Department
said.

The woman's 18-month-old was also in the car but was lost in a murky creek
and presumed dead, Fire Department spokesman Lt. Kent Worley said.
Authorities called off the search for the boy about 3 p.m. (4 p.m. ET)
Saturday, he said.

According to Worley, high waters washed the family's vehicle into Sycamore
Creek and trapped the 2-year-old inside, submerged in water. The mother got
out but also drowned after resuscitation attempts failed, he said.




This story alone explains why there should be better education on flash
flooding.

We are all fascinated by tornadoes, and how they can inflict such a large
amount of damage in a concentrated area.  However, we should also emphasize
more on the dangers of high water.

EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE VICTIMS DID NOT NEED TO DIE, AND WOULD NOT HAVE,
HAD THEY NOT TRIED TO DRIVE INTO FLOODED AREAS.

That is at least 6 people, 3 families, that are now torn apart by
unspeakable...and preventable...tragedy.

I feel that we should encourage the National Weather Service to better
concentrate their efforts on flash flooding, and the dangers that they
possess, just as strongly as they do tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, and
hurricanes.