I am surely not a swimmer, but after the recent tragic flooding in Texas, it got me and my roommate wondering…

  • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
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    4 days ago

    A life jacket can’t effectively protect you against debris, but it can help keep you from drowning from exhaustion as you try to dodge and seek an escape. And if you do die anyway, it could help your body be found, for the sake of those who mourn you.

    • LastYearsIrritant@sopuli.xyz
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      3 days ago

      Not exactly true, yes if the debris is bad enough and the current is strong enough, there isn’t a lot that will help. BUT if you have a life jacket, even in swiftly moving water, you can lean back and orient your feet downstream and it’ll keep your head away from the worst of it.

      That would be significantly harder to do without a PFD.

      • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
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        3 days ago

        Good point. I guess people ought not only to have life jackets, but also trained on how best to use them in rough water. Although they’re mostly kept near boats and things. Would having them hung on the cabin walls at Camp Mystic have saved lives? Not all, with whole buildings crashing around in the water, but maybe a few.