With heavy rain drenching large areas of South East Queensland, grey nomads and all travellers are again being warned that ‘if it’s flooded, forget it’.
Sadly, the message is being hammered home by what looks likely to be another flood tragedy. The search has resumed this morning for a 67-year-old Queensland man missing since his car was swept away in floodwaters near Gympie last night.
Police say the man and his wife got out of their car when they encountered a flooded causeway on Marys Creek Road. However, the man then got back into the car in a bid to move it but the vehicle was swept away by the rushing water.
Some areas of Queensland have been smashed by more than a month’s worth of rain, with more heavy falls predicted.
The Queensland Government warns motorists that the second they decide to push through floodwater, they give up control and are at the mercy of any number of hidden dangers. It says every year firefighters rescue more people from water than they do from fires.
With reports of vehicles being washed away on causeways or pictures of 4WDs taking crazy risks in floodwaters continuing to emerge regularly, it appears the message is still not getting through to many people. A survey recently asked Queenslanders if they had ever risked driving through floodwater and a staggering 40% of 4WDers answered yes, as did 33% of regional drivers.
Other research revealed that between 900 and 2015, 1,859 people had died in floods in Australia, with the majority of them avoidable. Most deaths occurred in New South Wales and Queensland, although a greater proportion of people die in the Northern Territory compared to the population. Most deaths happen in relative isolation, in flood events that claim either one or two lives.
The research revealed that most people died while attempting to cross a bridge, causeway, culvert or road, either on foot or in a vehicle. It showed that while most victims were capable of independent action and aware of the flood, the speed and depth of the water took them by surprise.
