The best way to survive a flash flood like the one that claimed at least 90 lives in Texas over the holiday weekend is to heed warnings and avoid high water, Northeastern University experts in disaster and survival medicine say.
But if you get swept downstream, “there is hope,” says Stephen P. Wood, program director for Northeastern’s adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner program.
“There are a few things you can do to help survive a flash flood,” he says.
Float on your back, like a starfish
“If you fall into fast-moving water, the first thing is to get on your back and keep your feet pointed downstream. That way, your feet absorb impact, not your head,” says Wood, who has worked in the fields of emergency and extreme medicine.
Think of it as floating in a “starfish pattern” on your back, head tilted back, arms out, says Joshua Merson, program director of extreme medicine medical sciences at Northeastern.
In fast-moving water it might also be helpful “to use your arms in a backstroke movement to slow down while looking for safe locations to exit,” Merson says. “At that point, swim as aggressively and as fast as possible to try to exit.”
