Cannot Escape Even if Water Rises Just 50 cm: How to Cope in Flooding Situations

The monsoon season has begun in earnest. During times of heavy rain like these, the most dangerous places are underground spaces. Underground spaces refer to semi-basement apartments, underground parking lots, and underpasses, which we are all familiar with. We must be especially careful because these underground spaces can flood in an instant as water rises rapidly during heavy rainfall.


In fact, you may remember that four years ago, in 2022 when Typhoon Hinnamnor hit the Korean Peninsula, a river overflowed and flooded an underground parking lot of an apartment complex in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. At that time, seven residents lost their lives after failing to escape the parking lot; they were people who had gone to move their cars after hearing an announcement that the parking lot was flooding. In the summer of the same year, a pair of sisters in their 40s and a teenage daughter died in Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, after failing to escape a flooded semi-basement apartment.

According to the government's statistics on the number of people who died or went missing due to storm and flood damage over the past 10 years, 37 out of 199 people, or about 20 percent, were victims of underground space flooding. The reason underground spaces are so fatal during heavy rains is that the point where water enters and the place where people evacuate are the same, making it difficult to evacuate against the rushing water.
 
  To see for myself how dangerous underground flooding is and how difficult it is to escape, I decided to experience it firsthand. I visited the Boramae Safety Experience Center operated by the Seoul Metropolitan Fire & Disaster Headquarters. At this center, visitors can experience various hazardous situations that can arise from storms and floods. Among them, I experienced how to evacuate during an underground flooding scenario, testing situations where water rose to 30 cm, 50 cm, and 70 cm.


When this report was broadcast on the 8 p.m. news, there were a few comments questioning, "Can't you easily escape from that level of water?" or "Is the reporter not trying hard enough?" Before going to the experience center, I also thought that since I am physically strong, I might be able to escape. However, after the experience, I realized how arrogant I had been.
   
I also watched other citizens try the experience. An adult woman could not open the door, and even when a physically fit adult man tried, the door only shook slightly but did not open. Although it wasn't shown in the news broadcast, I also experienced a situation where the water rose to 70 cm, which is about thigh-high. At this level, no matter how much force I exerted, the door would not budge at all, as if someone was pushing back from the other side.

In fact, there is an experiment conducted by the National Disaster Management Research Institute (NDMRI). When the floodwater depth was about 30 cm, both men and women were able to escape. However, when the water rose to 40 cm, reaching around calf height, men could escape but women could not. When the water reached about 50 cm, up to knee height, it was impossible for both men and women to escape. When I asked a researcher at the National Disaster Management Research Institute who conducted this experiment, they explained that water rising to about 50 cm exerts a force similar to having a boulder weighing about 110 kg (242 lbs) blocking the door.
       
  
Therefore, once water reaches adult knee height, it becomes impossible to open a closed door and escape. The best course of action is to evacuate immediately at the first sign of rising water or if water begins to back up from the drains. Some of you might wonder what posture to adopt when trying to open the door. If you need to push the door open, you should lower your body, press your shoulder tightly against the door, and push with all your might. If you need to pull the door open, you should grab the handle with both hands, assume a squatting position, and pull the door with maximum force.
    Escaping through the door is not the end. In the case of underground spaces, you often have to go up the stairs once you escape. When climbing stairs where muddy water is pouring down, you must hold onto the handrail tightly with both hands.


You might think you should hold onto the handrails on both sides. However, if you hold the handrails with your arms spread wide while water is pouring down heavily, you could lose your balance in the rapid current and fall backward. Therefore, you should hold onto a single handrail on one side with both hands. Once you have a firm grip with both hands, you should move as if you are ice skating—keeping your feet flat on the ground and sliding them rather than lifting them—to stay safe.
 
Additionally, going barefoot is actually better than wearing rain boots, which can fill with water and make it hard to lift your feet, or high heels/dress shoes, which can cause you to slip.
  If water begins to rise in underground parking lots or underpasses, it is best to abandon your vehicle. Even if the water only reaches halfway up the tires, there is a risk of becoming trapped inside the vehicle due to water pressure. If evacuation is delayed and you become trapped inside, you should open or break the windows, or in the case of an SUV, open the trunk to secure an escape route.

Some people might think they should quickly drive their cars up to the ground level before the parking lot floods, but experts warn this is extremely dangerous. If water reaches just two-thirds of a vehicle's height, the car will float due to buoyancy. Even a slight current can then leave the car stranded and drifting helplessly, so it is highly dangerous to assume you can drive through, no matter how shallow the water seems.

While we have looked at evacuation methods, experts emphasize that prevention is the most important step. They stress that if heavy rain is expected, sandbags or flood barriers should be installed in advance, and drains should be checked beforehand. We hope everyone stays safe and trouble-free this summer.
 
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.