The Flood-Related Behaviour of River Users in Australia

Conclusion Preventing drowning in floodwaters is an international challenge, made more difficult by people driving through, or swimming in, floodwaters. Practical strategies to reduce loss of life due to driving through floodwaters are required, including skills to assess the risk and make informed decisions on when it is safe to drive through and when it is not. Swimming in floodwaters is a little researched topic. While this study has identified one in five people have undertaken the behaviour, commonly at a young age, there is a need for further research to understand the context of the behaviour and the motivations for engaging in it, including the role of alcohol. Such knowledge would allow for effective, regionally-specific drowning prevention strategies to be developed, targeting those most at-risk, in order to reduce loss of life during times of flood. Data Availability Statement Due to ethical constraints imposed by the Ethics Committee that granted approval for this study, the data is unable to be publicly uploaded. Data requests can be made by contacting ethics@jcu.edu.au and quoting the ethics approval number H7249. Competing Interests Statement The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Corresponding Author Amy Peden, Royal Life Saving Society – Australia and James Cook University (apeden@rlssa.org.au)
Source: PLOS Currents Disasters - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Source Type: research