Monsoon's are here...

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by dragonfly, Aug 2, 2010.


  1. dragonfly

    dragonfly Monkey+++

    And along with the rain, come FLASH FLOODS!
    It was so bad here in Arizona that at one time that the state had to implement a "Stupid Motorist Law".
    Yup, it's for real!
    People just will not pay attention to those "DO NO CROSS WHEN FLOODED" signs! Many get stuck, but many get swept away, and after a few dozen roll overs and the water takes the occupants OUT of their cars, some are NEVER seen or heard from again.
    Right now, up north the "washes" as they are called, have becone 125-150 ft wide, roaring white water rivers! They are running at 3 to 8 feet in places. Now honestly, you'd think some people would NOT even attempt to drive a car much less a small pickup thru those areas...BUT they do!
    What is strange, is the concept that "I have great ground clearance and I have really awesomely big tires"!
    And they're off! (literally off, their rockers!) Those ground clearances mean nada! Those really big massive fat tires, well, they act like really fat beach balls in that much water, and they lift vehicles up so they flip so much easier in the deep runoff! They tumble over and over and they go downstream....with and without the drivers and occupants!
    When it rains in the desert, the rule of thumb is to: get to HIGH GROUND! Sand does not absorb water well.
    Washes and small ravines become roaring rivers in the blink of an eye.
    Few ever see or even hear the waters rushing in....and they are gone in a second or two. Like the campers that were lost in the Sedona area not so long ago...And, the water does not come alone, it carries rocks, trees, anything it gets ahold of it, and throws it right along at you! Up near Page Arizona in the famous Antelope Canyons for instance, there are 2 canyons the upper and the lower...they have had tourists IGNORE their Native American Indian guides, that warn them when to get out. They did not listen and They died. There was little warning, and the Guides knew that the rains from further up north would be heading down to them. They told the tourists to get out. ONLY The 2 guides survived. Something like 23 people perished that day, and only a handful of their bodies were ever found.
    Nature can be cruel!
     
  2. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member


    lol so true.
     
  3. bnmb

    bnmb On Hiatus Banned

    Yep...even in normal rain, every puddle could be nasty...it's called aquaplanning...my tires are 225 and I felt the effect few times...
     
  4. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    One of the funniest sights I can remember is about thirty years ago, after a very hard couple days of torrential rain, I was looking into a large and deep drainage ditch - to see a VW Bug floating downstream!
    Another very bad area is our inner-city high school - the lower student parking lot floods everytime it rains like that for a couple days. Many kids can only look forlornly at the roofs of their sunken cars......
    And the tow-trucks are gathered around like sharks, gouging some with high prices to haul their cars out...... Sad sight......
     
  5. dragonfly

    dragonfly Monkey+++

    I could be a rich man, just pulling vehicles out of the mud and ditches up north! All I need is a really heavy duty tow truck , lots of chains, and waders!
     
  6. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    When I was stationed at Great Lakes Navy Base, a few guys had tough 4X4 trucks, and would go out after snowstorms to haul people out of the snowbanks and ditches. Usually got paid a gratuity, and made some bucks. A young sailor always needs 'beer money'! [beer]
     
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