CORCORAN, Calif. – Three people and a dog were rescued on Sunday after officials say the group drove around highway barricades after the roads were closed due to floodwaters.
As the car sank and filled with water, the three people helped their dog onto the car’s roof and waited. A Tulare County Sheriff’s Office plane spotted the four and quickly called for backup.
About 14 vehicles and a boat came to the rescue. Thankfully, the submerged car was very close to a portion of the road that was not flooded. The drone video shows deputies watching within shouting distance.
The Tulare County Fire Department Water Rescue Team waded out to the car with an inflatable boat. Despite being on a highway, officers were in waist-deep water, which is more than enough to carry a car.
The NWS states that only 2 feet of rushing water can carry away most cars, pickups and SUVs. One foot can float most cars, and 6 inches could cause the driver to lose control and stall.
Officials encourage the “Turn around, don’t drown” slogan that the NWS coined in Texas in 2003. After NOAA trademarked the phrase, they launched a national campaign in 2004.
Flooding kills more Americans each year than any other severe weather-related hazard, according to the NWS. Over half of all flood-related drownings happen after a car drives into floodwater, states the Centers for Disease Control. About 400 Americans die every year because their vehicle is submerged, according to a 2013 study published in Aviation, Science and Environmental Medicine.
Portions of Tulare County, California, are still under evacuation orders and road closures since March 8. One of the atmospheric river-fueled storms flooded rivers and triggered levee breaches. The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection estimates that seven structures have been destroyed, 778 suffered significant damage, and almost 24,000 structures are still threatened.
The next round of storms arrives overnight.