A safety tether may seem like a good idea when entering a flooded stream. Quite often a tethered rescuer gets swept off his feet, pushed underwater, and held there by the current. Remember, that force may be several hundred pounds-far too much for him to release the knot or to be hauled back upstream. Two firefighters died this way in 1995. DO get appropriate training before an incident.
Flooding is probably the most common natural disaster.
It knows no season nor region. Yet too often the need for training is ignored until after a high-profile incident. This article can do no more than identify some of the more obvious, avoidable mistakes that have killed rescuers in the past. To insure the safety of rescuers and the effective rescue of others, some form of swiftwater rescue training and awareness is essential. An average of 200 Americans drown each year in flash flooding-more than in airline crashes or domestic terrorism.