MovieChat Forums > Flood (2007) Discussion > Things You NEED to know in the event of ...

Things You NEED to know in the event of FLOOD

posted 16 years ago by vikingmage
16 replies | jump to latest

When the waters are rising ... follow the advice of Commissioner Nash "Get to high ground, listen to me ... get to high ground!"
This might not have entered your mind as a good strategy, but trust me, its for the best. The high ground will be above the level of the water which is trying to kill you. Good advice!

Secondly ... when trapped in rising waters follow the advice "Keep breathing!!!!" ... failure to breathe will result in your death. This is probably advice you will want to print out and keep somewhere safe.

When faced with a FLOOD situation ... it might not occur to you that an Underground Railway Station is an unsafe place to stop for a rest. Probably you will want to sit around until the water comes steaming down the track... good advice now is "Get to high ground ... and Keep breathing!"

In this day and age how does something this poor get into production?

That movie has warped my fragile little mind.

[–] stupid_mansuit 16 years ago

Are you sure the underground isn't safe, surely if im underground the water is above me?

[–] vikingmage 16 years ago

Stupid Mansuit ... just keep breathing ... and get to high ground ...

If you feel an underground station is "high ground" where you can safely "keep breathing" .. then go for it!
If the water accidentally gets into the underground system, through any of the pesky holes in the stations, then remember that if you run really fast you can outrun fast flowing water!

That movie has warped my fragile little mind.

[–] stupid_mansuit 16 years ago

Well maybe a hill would be better, or the top of st Pauls that seemed empty, be a nice view from there too.

[–] vikingmage 16 years ago

A hill ... yes, that might fit the definition of "high ground" better than an underground station. Keep breathing!!

That movie has warped my fragile little mind.

[–] nickwarrenauthor 16 years ago

And just look behind the tube maps, you might find a secret door . . .

[–] SickGirl2 16 years ago

You could always get yourself into the nearest skyscraper and go up the stairs. Oops - that would be too easy wouldn't it?

[–] ib011f9545i 16 years ago

Actually London Underground stations are protected against flooding by special gates,or are they part of a top secret shelter system?
Check out the conspiracy theory,see the book BENEATH THE CITY STREETS by PETER LAURIE.

I quite liked this film but it would have been better if Joanna Whalley had worn a wet suit.

[–] nickwarrenauthor 16 years ago

You mean wet suit as in getting 'nipply' in the water or neoprene??!! Ha ha. Whatever floats your boat. Pun intended.

It is true, the tube tunnels do have special steel floodgates that date back to World War 2, especially on the sections of track that travel beneath the Thames, case in point the Northern Line.

[–] marioncrane 16 years ago

Possible SPOILER for Atonement...

Nickwarrenauthor, it's kind of off the point, and it's been a while since I've seen it, but in Atonement, wasn't Keira Knightley's character supposed to have died by drowning in one of those underground tunnels?

Just an observation, but it seems that poetic licence was used for that plot as well as Flood, given the existence of the steel floodgates you mentioned. I don't know if they exist or not, but it would make a lot of sense if they did, and I don't doubt you for a moment.

[–] stupid_mansuit 16 years ago

I very much doubt flood gates exist unless the line is under the Thames and I really doubt that the newer lines would have any flood defense system. Pretty stupid if they did as they arn't at all likely to flood and if they did it would be obvious before hand and they would be closed. Anyway what sort of numpty uses the undeground in a flood?

[–] ib011f9545i 16 years ago

Keira Knightley's character in Atonement died in tube station which was flooded after a water main or water tank was burst due to German bombing.
It was not a natural flood which killed her
This really happened,I can't remember which tube station it was but it gets mentioned in the ATONEMENT page on IMDB.

The anti flooding gates at the entrance to some tube tunnels were built after World War 11,after the great 1953 flood which killed hundreds of people in England and thousands in Holland.
I think I have this right,it is a while since I read BENEATH THE CITY STREETS by PETER LAURIE.

It is a fascinating book about government preparations for war and revolution since 1914.
It is out of print but you can get it in libraries.

[–] marioncrane 16 years ago

Thanks for the info, ib011f9545i - very interesting.

For what it's worth - I'm not a huge fan of Atonement, but it was far better than Flood, which was run of the mill at best. If it were not for the floodgates query, I wouldn't think of mentioning both in the same sentence.

[–] toallitas 11 years ago

Can't people go up a few stories in the buildings and avoid the flood water that way.

[–] nick-cooper-1 9 years ago

The event in Atonement was real - at Balham station - but the result of a totally unexpected and unlucky event. The station did have watertight doors across the entrances to the platforms from the bottom of the escalators, but they were designed to protect them from water coming down the escalators from water mains in the street if they were burst by bombs. All stations near to large mains were protected like this, as were the tunnels that run under the Thames.

Unfortunately, in the case of Balham, a huge semi-armour piercing bomb hit the road directly above the platform, and only exploded when it came into contact with the iron segments of a passageway between the platforms. This both breached the northbound platform, and broke numerous water mains and sewers running under the road, hence the tunnel flooded. The aircraft that dropped the bomb was also crossing the line of the tunnel, so if it had been dropped slightly earlier or slightly later, it wouldn't have hit the tunnel at all. It was just incredible bad luck that it did.

[–] Strazdamonas 11 years ago

Istn high ground kinda common sense? in the emergency as this, it is clear the streets are going to be full and impossible to move though. so what first came to my mind is find a tall building and get to the roof. why would people go down to street level?

as for breathing, are there really people who forget to breathe?

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Applied Science? All science is applied. Eventually.

[–] alaskasassenach 8 years ago

I wondered by those stuck in London didn't go up to the higher floors in the skyscrapers--they seemed not to be standing :)