Beware: cyclone-related debris and damage can cause serious injury

The Spinal Injuries Association is urging North Queenslanders to take special care when swimming, driving or travelling through bushland following today’s expected cyclone and heavy rain.

Spinal Injuries Association North Queensland Manager Mary Langdon said floods caused many unexpected changes to the environment that could cause a spinal cord injury.

“Heavy rain results in huge changes to our environment that we all need to take into account, and accompanying storms shift all types of dangerous debris in rivers, creeks and dams,” Mary said.

“This type of debris, such as logs and branches, is often what causes a spinal cord injury – if someone dives into the water and hits the debris, they can break their back or neck, resulting in paraplegia or quadriplegia.”

“Water levels and currents also change with heavy rains so while someone may be familiar with a body of water, this rain has changed everything,”

Mary said water-related accidents were the third most common cause of a spinal cord injury in Queensland, following road trauma and falls/crushes. Around 90 people each year sustain a spinal cord injury in Queensland – or one person on average every four days.

“We strongly urge people to take special care when swimming in creeks, rivers, dams or at the beach given the changed circumstances.

“They need to walk into the water to check whether there is anything under the surface and whether it is deep enough to dive into.

“Taking a minute to check, can save someone a life-time of living with a spinal cord injury.”

Mary said bush tracks and regional roads should also be viewed with special caution.

“A bush track used by trail bike riders, for example, might now have logs or other debris in its path with some areas possibly washed away,” she said.

“Erosion may well have caused some formerly stable areas of track to be uneven and dangerous, especially for novice riders.

“We also urge drivers to take extra care on regional roads, too, given some have been washed away or will now have potholes or other associated flood-related damage.”

The Spinal Injuries Association is a not-for-profit organisation representing more than 1,500 members throughout the state.

As part of its constitution, it is dedicated to injury prevention and for the past 22 years, has operated a unique injury prevention program to educate school children about safety. In 2008, the Spinal Education Awareness Team (SEAT) shared life-changing safety messages with almost 70,000 children throughout Queensland.

Issued 12 January 2009.