You’re all ready to go on the float trip you’ve had scheduled for months, but there’s just one problem – the river is flooded! That might not mean anything to you now, but knowing what hazards can come from one day of floating on a flooded river with high water levels might make you second guess and reschedule your float trip. You’re all ready planned on the float trip, but there’s just one problem – the river is flooded! Call EHS for help line.
Here are four of the major problems when it comes to flooded rivers and how they can affect you and other floaters.
Strong Current
The first and most dangerous aspect about floating on a flooded river is the current. Strong currents can do a big amount of damage not only to your canoe, but to you too. Currents are bodies of water moving one way, when flooding occurs, the speed of the current becomes faster and harder to control in your canoe or kayak. They will take you wherever they’re going, whether that’s where you want to go or not. They force your canoes, kayaks, or rafts to go quickly and without any warning of dangerous rocks or tree branches that could be in the water.
The currents rapid movements could also force your canoe or kayak to tip over, bringing you down with it or trapped under it. With strong currents, it’s even more dangerous to be trapped under your canoe. Constantly being pushed down the river under your canoe by the current can result in serious injuries or even death. Currents are also known for throwing people out of their canoes or kayaks, and being stuck in the water whiles their canoes and kayaks get pushed down the river. Getting thrown from your canoe or kayak will cause you to not be able to stop yourself from being pushed down the river by the strong current, hitting branches, rocks, or any other debris the river contained from the flooding.
Sweepers
Trees have branches hanging over the river even before the floods, but as soon as heavy rain comes down, those branches turn from just hanging there to harmful in a matter of minutes. Sweepers are low hanging branches that are more in the way now that the river is higher from flooding. Since the rain is pouring down harder, causing the river water to rise, these branches get closer to the river. These branches can ‘sweep’ a person from their canoe out onto the river, either trapping them there our pushing them rapidly with the current. It is hard to get away from a sweeper because they are in the way on the river. They’re not the most dangerous part of flooding rivers, but they still can cause serious injuries while trying to escape them.
Strainers
On trees, there are all different locations of branches, some high and some low. Strainers are the already low branches that already have some sort of danger to them on the river that most floaters try to avoid anyway. Those branches become strainers when the branches are taken underwater because of the flooding and rising waters.
These branches are unseen, so floating down the river can be fine one second, and the next you can be caught in a strainer. They capture your canoes, kayaks, or even you and don’t let anything go pass them without a fight. They hold whatever object gets caught in them below the surface, not allowing it to move. While you’re caught in a strainer, you’re most likely going to be stuck underwater, and with the rush of the current along with it, make it a very dangerous situation to be in for anybody.
Undercuts
Undercuts, which are just as dangerous as sweepers and strainers, are another form of a hazard that can come from flooding. Undercuts are related to potholes on the road. They can be found under river bank and rock edges. Undercuts are hidden, so avoiding one can be near impossible on a flooded river. They can cause your canoe to get caught in a hole in the water, which would result in you or your canoe being trapped against their debris or rocks. Undercuts can also pull branches and sticks under them, causing strainers. If you or your canoe gets caught under them and into the strainer against the current, it can result in very serious injuries or fatalities.
Although you may have had your floating trip planned out for months now and have been counting down the days, it makes more sense to be on the safe side of things when it comes to flooded rivers. You can always float a different day and have a better time than chancing it and putting yourself and others in danger.
Another hazard is the flood wash out the septic tanks and lagoon of all the cabins around the river.