Flash flooding....anyone ever been caught?

[shinrai]

I got caught (or more so drove into) a flash flood about a 1/2 mile short of the Armagosa Opera House in Death Valley a few years back at midnight. Water over the hood and up to the windows in my rental Corolla. I kept it pinned and shut off the traction control immediately. Car was floating intermittently but pushed through the 300 ft. water crossing. Wife freaking out the whole time. We were staying at the Opera house. A bunch of stranded people camped out in the parking lot told us we were mental. The dashboard of the Toyota lit up like a Christmas tree from the car taking on so much water. The lights slowly shut off the next day one-by-one with the 120 degree heat.

One of the stupidest and scariest things I have ever done. Will never do that again.

[mattdavis11]

I drove through a flooded road in the 944. It floated a bit, but made it. It sucked up some water and it took awhile to run right afterwards. 25 miles later, I hit a rock which had washed onto the (closed) highway and it took out the oil pan and steering rack.

I was driving straight into a pm sun, and neither me, nor my co-pilot saw it until it was too late. I left it on the side of the road 40 miles from Mexico for a few days.

The same trip, just a few miles from our hunting camp, and after getting a flat in my buddies Ranger due to a washed out barbed wire fence, we thought we would have to wait out a flooded dirt road, but the ranch hands, in a 80's camaro, showed us how to get around it.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by mattdavis11

I drove through a flooded road in the 944. It floated a bit, but made it. It sucked up some water and it took awhile to run right afterwards.

When I had my 911 I drove through water once that ended up stacking up in front of the car until it was running up the hood between the lights.

WHen I had my miata, I was trying to get home from work. I tried about 3 routes that were too deep. I got to the last possible option to get home and stopped in a left hand turn lane watching other vehicles go on ahead. I had a couple of trucks pass me. When they went past, the wake caused the back of the car to float a bit. I ended up thinking better of trying to make it further and pulled across the street into a parking lot. I only had to wait 1-2 hours for the rain to stop and the water to subside enough for my wife to come get me.

25 miles later, I hit a rock which had washed onto the (closed) highway and it took out the oil pan and steering rack.

I was driving straight into a pm sun, and neither me, nor my co-pilot saw it until it was too late. I left it on the side of the road 40 miles from Mexico for a few days.

The same trip, just a few miles from our hunting camp, and after getting a flat in my buddies Ranger due to a washed out barbed wire fence, we thought we would have to wait out a flooded dirt road, but the ranch hands, in a 80's camaro, showed us how to get around it.

That sucks!

LOL rescued by a camaro!

[nota]

floated valiant in a miami street near the river downtownish
in one of our 12'' rain events

did in the rear wheel bearings but not the front

at the current house the SW floods and flows about 2-3 ''
in a hard rain but the house is up a bit higher

[stevej37]

Was trapped in traffic in a Tampa Mall with a rental car.
The runoff was way more than the storm sewers could handle. The water came up to the seat level and killed the car. I threw everything I owned out the window and abandoned the car.

The rental company (Alamo) charged me for a couple days of un-use.

[dw1]

Oh, how I remember Irene. A short distance from me, my brother-in-law and his family (including my mother-in-law, who was staying with them) had to be evacuated by front loader due to hurricane Irene.

The house is near a small river (a stream, really) and water just came up faster than anyone expected. My neighborhood was far more lucky.

Even the local hospital was an isolated island (the photo below with the flagpole).

The local Chevy dealer (was Gearhart, now Schumacher) was inundated, but as the water was rising they called everybody they could (including me) to help move all of the cars & trucks to higher ground. We moved most of them, but not all.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by dw1

Oh, how I remember Irene. A short distance from me, my brother-in-law and his family (including my mother-in-law, who was staying with them) had to be evacuated by front loader due to hurricane Irene.

The house is near a small river (a stream, really) and water just came up faster than anyone expected. My neighborhood was far more lucky.

Even the local hospital was an isolated island (the photo below with the flagpole).

The local Chevy dealer (was Gearhart, now Schumacher) was inundated, but as the water was rising they called everybody they could (including me) to help move all of the cars & trucks to higher ground. We moved most of them, but not all.

I'm about 15 miles UPHILL from there in Jefferson.

[3rd_gear_Ted]

Well it happened again, Interstate 10 EB from Cali got washed out last night.
So much for my trip to AZ this weekend.

[Scott Douglas]

I was in a flood way back in the early '50's in NJ. I know because my dad put a red dot of paint on all his tools which he had to take into work when it got flooded. I think he was working for RCA at the time. Our house was on a street that had a culvert at the corner that you could look right into from our house. When they increased the size of the culvert Dad decided it was time to move.

Rain out in the desert can catch you by surprise as it can dump miles from where you are and all of a sudden you have rivers flowing where it once was dry.

[Tobra]

Yes.

I saw the water in a creek in Texas rise several feet in a matter of maybe 30 seconds.

The power of moving water is astounding

GD hurricane just blew through, and half the Texans I talked to said, "Man, how could you stand living in California with all those earthquakes?"

[SCadaddle]

My favorite little community in Mississippi made the national news last night.

The neighboring City of Jackson sources its water supply and sits below a 33,000 acre lake with a spillway into the Pearl River. The current flow into the lake is 56,000 cubic feet per second. The outflow is currently 45,000 cubic feet per second.

There is 2 feet of freeboard currently available in the lake before it all gets discharged.

Watch for Jackson Mississippi on your national news next week.

[pwd72s]

Wouldn't call it a flash flood, but remember well the 1964 flood here. Early pioneers to Oregon quickly learned not to build close to rivers. Remembering that flood, I see lots of newer homes here that I'd never consider living in.

[Solamar]

Backpacking in Utah with my sons. We were told if we hear a jet airplane, run to high ground. The sound is not a jet, but water heading your way FAST.

[Eric 951]

Yes, in California in the late 70's. On the same trip we almost fell into a river on a collapsing bridge, were attacked by JAWS, and temporarily taken hostage by Cylon Raiders.

[A930Rocket]

I wasn’t trapped, but about 25 years ago, I built multiple houses in a neighborhood. At the bottom of the hill, was one house that had a drain in the front yard. During a heavy downpour, there was a 20 foot wide vortex of water circling the drain. As I sat there in my truck looking at it, I noticed the husband, wife and kids at the front door looking at the same thing.😂

We ended up re-grading all of the yards to divert water to the street and moved the drain between the two houses. I wish I had a phone camera like I do now for everything.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

https://youtu.be/FJOpZF_4b-w?t=419

Damned lucky family...

[Tobra]

Oh yeah, that time I saw the water rise that quickly, I was stuck at my in-laws' house for 3 days after. If I had not driven Wayne to the Jiffy Stop for beer and cigarettes, I would have slept in my own bed that night. I drank all his beer that weekend, only time that has ever happened, as long as I have known him. Also, that was more of a 2 feet of rain falling in a week than a flash flood deal

[Sooner or later]

Originally Posted by SCadaddle

My favorite little community in Mississippi made the national news last night.

The neighboring City of Jackson sources its water supply and sits below a 33,000 acre lake with a spillway into the Pearl River. The current flow into the lake is 56,000 cubic feet per second. The outflow is currently 45,000 cubic feet per second.

There is 2 feet of freeboard currently available in the lake before it all gets discharged.

Watch for Jackson Mississippi on your national news next week.

Were you ever right. What a disaster. No water treatment on top of the flooding.

[JavaBrewer]

Montecito mud slide catches CHP off guard - unfortunate Porsche content at the end



This event shut down all access South of Santa Barbara for a while. Surface streets in Montecito that connected Carpinteria were washed away and the 101 freeway was closed for a couple weeks if I recall correctly.



My wife was in town and after waiting a couple days had to drive North 101 to SLO and pick up a connector East to the I-5 and then South to San Diego. Took her 11 hours to get home.

[sugarwood]

Good short video

https://www.wsj.com/video/series/on-the-news/the-us-has-been-hit-by-dramatic-flooding-and-it-could-get-worse/3571C9D3-50C1-4F22-B71D-207B61C8C745