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Floods

Selfies in Floods: A Risky Business

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Floodwaters can be deceiving, knocking an adult off their feet with just 15cm of water. Emergency services warn against entering floodwaters on foot or in vehicles, but many people ignore these warnings, including those creating social media content. A recent example posted on Tiktok shows a young man standing on a mossy log over a flooded river, with dramatic music playing in the background. This behavior is not new and was also observed during floods in Townsville earlier this year.

**Key Takeaways:**

  • Almost 700 rescues had been carried out in New South Wales by Friday morning as record-breaking rainfall pounds the state, with four people having died in floodwaters.
  • Videos posted on social media show people deliberately entering or standing above swollen rivers and flooded roads, a pattern of dangerous behavior that occurs frequently during natural disasters in Australia.
  • The behavior is not only risky for participants but can also inspire copycat behavior and endanger the lives of rescuers.
  • The public health problem of taking selfies in floods requires new remedies, including prevention, education, and interventions through social media platforms.
  • The phenomenon of selfie-related incidents may not be addressed by traditional measures such as "no-selfie zones" and signs, but rather require a public health approach.
  • Official warnings may compete with emotionally compelling, visually rich content on social media, leading to a lack of understanding and ignorance of warnings.
  • Social media companies can be held more accountable for the dangerous content they publish by flagging risky content and supporting in-app safety messaging, especially during extreme weather events.
  • Emergency services and researchers recommend staying out of floodwaters, even for a quick photo, as no post is worth risking one's life, and sharing verified information, supporting affected communities, and amplifying safety messages can help mitigate the risks.

Statistics:

  • 15cm of water can knock an adult off their feet or cause a car to lose traction and float.
  • The Australian government provides warning systems, including the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) issuing warnings on their website (http://www.bom.gov.au/nsw/warnings/).
  • In 2021, a woman fell into a swollen river while trying to take a selfie, prompting a police official to warn: "There is no photo or social media post that is worth risking your life to get."
  • The number of rescues in New South Wales as of Friday morning: almost 700.

Sources:

  • The Conversation (Au and NZ) -- By Samuel Cornell, PhD Candidate in Public Health & Community Medicine, School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney
  • ref. Disaster or digital spectacle? The dangers of using floods to create social media content -- https://theconversation.com/disaster-or-digital-spectacle-the-dangers-of-using-floods-to-create-social-media-content-257350

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