Right now, many people across Victoria and in parts of Melbourne have been affected by recent heavy rain. Flooding is inundating many towns and city areas.
At Results First Aid, we completely endorse the advice of the SES (State Emergency Service) that you should NEVER try to drive through, or walk through floodwaters – no matter how shallow or still the water may look. You may never know what is underneath the floodwaters – there could be fast moving water below, there could be potholes, tree branches or other hidden risks beneath the water. You or your car could get swept away suddenly and without warning. So always stay well back from floodwaters and if you need to cross find a safe, high and dry point to cross or find a way to go around them. It is just not worth the risk.
If you are on foot near floodwaters there are other risks to watch out for, even if you don’t go into the floodwaters themselves.
Now the weather is warmer, snakes and spiders are much more active at this time of year. And just like you, they both don’t like floodwaters. They also don’t like their homes to be flooded either. So they will seek a safer, drier place, well away from the water. That means they could be in places where you don’t normally find them.
You might find snakes on much higher ground than you normally would, as they seek somewhere safer to live and nest. You could even find them in your home – hiding in the garage, under the house or even up in the roof. The same is true of spiders.
Normally most snakes and spiders are not aggressive and will not attack you unless they feel threatened or they are protecting their young. But wet, confused and soggy snakes and spiders can be a lot more stressed than normal, leading them to be potentially more aggressive. (You’d be upset if your house was flooded in the middle of the night and so are they!)
So just be a little more cautious than normally if you live in close proximity to flooded areas. And be a little more watchful when you go out walking. Or are in the garage giving it a bit of a spring cleanout.
If you want to brush up on some of your first aid knowledge, please have a look through the following posts.
For information on treating someone who got caught in floodwaters, read our post on saving someone from drowning - https://www.resultsfirstaid.com/post/how-to-save-a-child-from-drowning-with-cpr
If you want to know how to treat a snake bite please read our post at https://www.resultsfirstaid.com/post/how-to-treat-a-snake-bite
But for real up to date first aid knowledge, book your first aid training at www.resultsfirstaid.com