You wouldn't drive into a bushfire, so why drive into floodwater?

摘要

It is widely agreed that entering floodwater, whether on foot or in a vehicle, is highly risky. There is usually little to no visibility of what is underneath the surface of a flooded road, and even seemingly shallow, moderate-flowing waters can sweep a person off their feet or cause a vehicle to lose control. Globally, floods are the highest cause of fatalities from natural hazards, and the second highest in Australia, so it makes sense that plenty of flood-risk communication campaigns have been instituted over the years. The question, however, is are they effective? Occupational psychologist at Macquarie University and lead researcher of the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC Flood risk communication project, Associate Professor Melanie Taylor, said that while previous research has identified the reasons behind flood fatalities, not enough research has investigated the behavioural aspect of entering floodwater.