Local

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Prof offers lesson on flood danger

By: Tammy W. Karatchuk

Posted: 04/19/2011 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Enlarge Image

Const. Guy Farquharson (left), Gordon Giesbrecht brave icy water. ( WAYNE.GLOWACKI@FREEPRESS.MB.CA)

Flood Fight

Flood Fight

The latest news about flooding in southern Manitoba this spring.
Interactive Map

Points of interest in Manitoba's flood fight
Compare floods

Compare today's river level in Winnipeg with levels during the 1950, 1997 and 2009 floods.

Related Items

Articles
- REPLAY: Province raising flood gates again

UNIVERSITY of Manitoba Prof. Gordon Giesbrecht teamed up with members of the RCMP dive rescue unit on Monday to demonstrate the dangers of crossing a flooded road.

Giesbrecht, also known as Prof. Popsicle for his work studying survival in the cold, wants people to know it's not the depth of the water you should be worried about when it comes to overland flooding.

"You're not going to drown in your car if it sinks into a foot of water," said Giesbrecht, "but the problem is, with current, it moves it off the road and now you're where you have no control and you're in big trouble."

Giesbrecht also warned not to use your cellphone if you should go under. "You have just frittered away your most opportune time to escape."

For the demonstration, a car was pushed in a section of Alarie Road, covered in less than a metre of water. Alarie Road, near St. Agathe, is where 61-year-old Raymond Stott drowned in his vehicle on April 6. The demonstration car was swept away with the current and sank -- all within two minutes. After the demonstration, Giesbrecht said it "showed us it doesn't take much water to float a vehicle, probably about 18 to 20 inches of water and the vehicle started to float."

Stott's brother, Gary, watched the demonstration.

"I had to take a deep breath and suck it up," he said, adding he had to "look at it from the aspect that I'm doing a job today for the rest of the people out there. "It doesn't look like it's that dangerous, but when you see a re-enactment like this, you can see very quickly the power of that water."

tammy.karatchuk@ freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 19, 2011 A6

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.

More Local

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.