While flash floods are by their nature fairly unpredictable, human beings are very predictable in their response to them, and very often, with tragic results.

Texas often leads the nation in flash flood deaths, and perhaps the biggest tragedy is that most of them could have been avoided.

The problem is one of perception. People have a tendency to underestimate how much power floodwater has and how little it takes to carry away a vehicle, even a large one. According to the National Weather Service and the Governor's Division of Emergency Management, six inches of water can cause a vehicle to lose traction, 12 inches will float a car away, and two feet of rushing water will carry off a pickup truck, SUV and most other vehicles.

We're not sure at this point whether water on the road caused or contributed to the accident Sunday when a car ran off the road, then was swept away in a rain-swollen ditch along State Hwy. 21 near the San Augustine County line.

Rescuers were able to help one occupant to safety before the car was swept away by the strong current, but they were not able to free a 43-year-old man who was carried away in the car and ultimately drowned.

Even a few inches of murky water on a roadbed can hide washouts on the roadbed or other road hazards. And in a flash flood, the water can rise so rapidly that it may reach a dangerous depth before a driver can get even halfway across to higher ground.

Roads are also weakened by floodwater and can collapse under the weight of the vehicle, so the need for precaution doesn't end, once the water has receded.

Fortunately, despite widespread flooding of roads in San Augustine and Shelby counties, only one fatality was reported as a result of Sunday's flooding. At this writing, more rain and flooding has been predicted for Monday, so we hope that figure hasn't changed.

But whether the flooding covers an entire city or a few city blocks, please heed this message by the NWS and the division of emergency management: Turn around, don't drown.