University of Wollongong Research Online Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: Part B Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health 1-1-2020 Vehicle-related flood fatalities in ustrA alia, 2001–2017 Mozumdar Ahmed Katharine A. Haynes University of Wollongong, [email protected] Mel Taylor Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers1 Publication Details Citation Ahmed, M., Haynes, K. A., & Taylor, M. (2020). Vehicle-related flood fatalities in ustrA alia, 2001–2017. Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: Part B. Retrieved from https://ro.uow.edu.au/ smhpapers1/1326 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] Vehicle-related flood fatalities in ustrA alia, 2001–2017 Abstract © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Flood Risk Management published by Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This study analyses the circumstances of vehicle-related flood fatalities between 2001 and 2017, in Australia. The research identified 96 deaths from 74 incidents during this period. The aim of this analysis is to understand the demographic, spatial and temporal patterns, and the situational conditions in which those (n = 96) deaths have occurred. This is important for informing efficient and strategic risk reduction strategies to reduce vehicle related deaths and injuries in floodwater. Data were accessed from the Australian National Coronial Information System (NCIS), which includes witness and police statements, forensic documents, and detailed coronial findings. Analysis was conducted in two phases. In phase one, data were coded and categorised according to a range of factors previously identified as significant inehicle-r v elated flood fatalities internationally. In phase two, a detailed analysis was conducted on 11 selected incidents for which there were complete sets of records. This detailed analysis provides insight into the multifaceted nature of fatal vehicle-related flood fatality incidents. The overall results reveal that, for drivers, middle-aged and elderly males are over-represented in the fatality statistics. As passengers, young women and children are vulnerable. The study also identified deep floodwater with high flow contributes more to vehicle immersion, and the presence of alcohol and drugs, leading to impaired responses, reduces the chance of survival for the vehicle occupants. Publication Details Ahmed, M., Haynes, K. & Taylor, M. (2020). Vehicle-related flood fatalities in ustrA alia, 2001–2017. Journal of Flood Risk Management This journal article is available at Research Online: https://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers1/1326 Received: 26 March 2019 Revised: 6 February 2020 Accepted: 11 March 2020 DOI: 10.1111/jfr3.12616 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Vehicle-related flood fatalities in Australia, 2001–2017 Mozumdar A. Ahmed1 | Katharine Haynes2,3 | Mel Taylor1,2 1Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Abstract Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia This study analyses the circumstances of vehicle-related flood fatalities 2Bushfire and Natural Hazards between 2001 and 2017, in Australia. The research identified 96 deaths from Cooperative Research Centre, Melbourne, 74 incidents during this period. The aim of this analysis is to understand the Victoria, Australia demographic, spatial and temporal patterns, and the situational conditions in 3Centre for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfires, School of which those (n = 96) deaths have occurred. This is important for informing Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, efficient and strategic risk reduction strategies to reduce vehicle related deaths University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia and injuries in floodwater. Data were accessed from the Australian National Coronial Information System (NCIS), which includes witness and police state- Correspondence ments, forensic documents, and detailed coronial findings. Analysis was con- Dr. Mozumdar A. Ahmed, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Health ducted in two phases. In phase one, data were coded and categorised and Human Sciences, Macquarie according to a range of factors previously identified as significant in vehicle- University, New South Wales 2109, related flood fatalities internationally. In phase two, a detailed analysis was Australia. Email: arifa-ahed.mozumdar@students. conducted on 11 selected incidents for which there were complete sets of mq.edu.au, [email protected] records. This detailed analysis provides insight into the multifaceted nature of fatal vehicle-related flood fatality incidents. The overall results reveal that, for Funding information Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative drivers, middle-aged and elderly males are over-represented in the fatality sta- Research Centre tistics. As passengers, young women and children are vulnerable. The study also identified deep floodwater with high flow contributes more to vehicle immersion, and the presence of alcohol and drugs, leading to impaired responses, reduces the chance of survival for the vehicle occupants. KEYWORDS driver, drowning, fatalities, flood, natural hazard, passenger, vehicles 1 | INTRODUCTION 2003). In the United States, Ashley and Ashley (2008) reported 63% of all flood deaths were vehicle-related. Vehicle-related incidents account for a significant propor- Similarly, in relation to flash flood deaths specifically, tion of flood fatalities globally (Ashley & Ashley, 2008; Špitalar et al. (2014) and Terti et al. (2015) both identified Diakakis & Deligiannakis, 2015; FitzGerald, Du, Jamal, that 68% of fatalities were vehicle-related. Jonkman and Clark, & Hou, 2010; Jonkman & Kelman, 2005; Vrijling (2008) identified that vehicle-related deaths were Jonkman & Vrijling, 2008; Kellar & Schmidlin, 2012; lower in Europe than the United States during the period Peden, Franklin, & Leggat, 2016; Terti, Ruin, Anquetin, & 1989–2002, with only 27% of flood deaths associated with Gourley, 2015; Yale, Cole, Garrison, Runyan, & Ruback, a vehicle in Europe compared to 63% in the United This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Flood Risk Management published by Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. J Flood Risk Management. 2020;e12616. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jfr3 1of17 https://doi.org/10.1111/jfr3.12616 2of17 AHMED ET AL. States. In Greece, fatalities that occurred inside a vehicle, database was used, alongside a number of online news increased from 30% to 58% during the period 1960–2010 portals, for example, ABC News, the Northern Star, the (Diakakis & Deligiannakis, 2016). In Portugal, fatality West Australian. Google maps was utilised to investigate rates were generally lower (14%), but also increased in the spatial context of each fatality. the last three decades with 25% of total flood fatalities All fatalities included in this study were carefully between 2001 and 2010 being vehicle-related (Pereira, selected from the NCIS database as those directly attrib- Diakakis, Deligiannakis, & Zêzere, 2017). In Australia, uted to flood events and the use of motor vehicles. The FitzGerald et al. (2010) reported that between 1997 and variables of interest were based on a previous review of 2008, 49% of flood fatalities were vehicle-related, simi- international literature (Ahmed, Haynes, & Taylor, larly Haynes et al. (2017) identified 49% between 1900 2018), and were selected to mirror the important risk fac- and 2015. Recent research in Australia (Haynes et al., tors that were identified, for example, gender, age, role in 2017; Peden, Franklin, Leggat, & Aitken, 2017) has docu- vehicle, influence of drugs and alcohol, and so forth. The mented and quantified vehicle-related flood fatalities; initial search for relevant fatality case identification was however, these studies have done so in the context of an time consuming as the classification of flood fatalities investigation of all flood fatalities over an extended time and lists of casualties were not consistently described in frame, and gaps remain in our understanding of vehicle- the database coding structure. Coronial findings were not related flood deaths specifically. available for all cases, especially recent cases which were The focus of this study is recent vehicle-related deaths not yet closed, or were noted as not having had the in Australia that occurred between 2001 and 2017. Our inquest yet. Despite these shortcomings, the NCIS data- research explores the circumstances surrounding these base allowed the researchers the retrieval of witness and fatalities using coronial findings to better understand the police statements, forensic documents (e.g., autopsy situational, demographic, and environmental conditions reports), and detailed contained in coronial findings for under which these deaths occurred. The study explores the majority of the fatalities. the age and gender patterns of the vehicle occupants, spe- cifically: how many people were inside the vehicle when one or more fatalities occurred; the distribution of deaths 2.2 | Analysis – the driver or the passenger(s); gender and age of the drivers and passengers; and, circumstances of survivors – The data search identified a total of 96 deaths that number