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You have to consider that some of the water people were stranded in during Harvey was not all "rain water." Some of this water came from broken levies (bodies of water) that get colder during these kinds of extreme weather conditions.
I think it is plausible. Under no circumstances would I dismiss, or call fake ~ someone who says they suffered what they did because "I" can't wrap my head around it.
We can expect this kind of fatal results when untrained people venture into hostile environments. There have been several electrocutions reported. It is a price that we pay when people pitch in to help.
The bogus vocabulary came from the injured BBC journalist and subsequent reporters have parroted the line. He self diagnosed it as frostbite. Long term immersion in water below body temperature can result in hypothermia, not frostbite.
"Hypothermia (hi-poe-THUR-me-uh) occurs as your body temperature falls below 95 F (35 C)"
My peeve, and a very common failure of writing is " . . . but the boat lost control and went into the power lines."
"Sure, blame the BOAT!"
Boat is not an issue. I'm not willing to dismiss his claims about hypothermia based on disbelief. I assume as a journalist, he/she has covered stories in all kinds of weather and would likely know more about afflictions caused by exposure better than me.
If you get wet, you get cold even in warm temperatures.
And if you stay wet you lose body temperature. Makes perfect sense to me. They were in that water (not just rain water) for a while.
One can go to a tropical location that has on average 90 degrees and the water temperature in the ocean can be at least 20-30 degrees cooler. Now, add the fact that it was not 90 degrees during Harvey, how cold was that water that rushed in from the broken levies?
And if you stay wet you lose body temperature. Makes perfect sense to me. They were in that water (not just rain water) for a while.
One can go to a tropical location that has on average 90 degrees and the water temperature in the ocean can be at least 20-30 degrees cooler. Now, add the fact that it was not 90 degrees during Harvey, how cold was that water that rushed in from the broken levies?
Frostbite doesn't mean "I felt really cold and uncomfortable", rather it is defined as ice crystal formation inside you; this requires -4C temperatures, cold enough to freeze even seawater.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MyGoldenLife
You have to consider that some of the water people were stranded in during Harvey was not all "rain water." Some of this water came from broken levies (bodies of water) that get colder during these kinds of extreme weather conditions.
I think it is plausible. Under no circumstances would I dismiss, or call fake ~ someone who says they suffered what they did because "I" can't wrap my head around it.
Frostbite is a specific medical term, but the use of the word in news stories comes from Ruaridh Connellan, not his doctors.
Why not dismiss? Not everything in the world is relative, and there's nothing wrong with dismissing a claim when somebody says they suffered what they did when that was physically impossible.
'We were hanging on for dear life,' Connellan said from his hospital bed where he is recovering from burns and other injuries. . . .We began to suffer from frostbite in our fingers and toes as it got colder during the night and we had to remove our waterlogged clothes. . . . We are all on strong antibiotics after spending so long in the water and have frostbite on our fingers and toes from exposure.
It's not uncommon for laymen to incorrectly use hypothermia and frostbite interchangeably. A common error is still an error.
Unfortuantely, I can't fact-chech this, but it appears hypothermia's possible in any water temperature below 80 F (27C), although it may take many hours to kick in. Only when water temps are 80F or higher could you conceivably survive indefinitely in them. Hypothermia Chart
60 to 70 degrees (Medium Hypothermia) 2 to 7 hours to exhaustion, 2 to 40 hours survival time
70 to 80 degrees (Low Hypothermia) 3 to 12 hours to exhaustion, 3 hours to indefinite survival time
Unfortuantely, I can't fact-chech this, but it appears hypothermia's possible in any water temperature below 80 F (27C), although it may take many hours to kick in. Only when water temps are 80F or higher could you conceivably survive indefinitely in them. Hypothermia Chart
60 to 70 degrees (Medium Hypothermia) 2 to 7 hours to exhaustion, 2 to 40 hours survival time
70 to 80 degrees (Low Hypothermia) 3 to 12 hours to exhaustion, 3 hours to indefinite survival time
They were out there for over 20 hours....in filthy water and in the rain. So nasty!
Sorry, but NO, there is no way frostbite "could" happen in Southern Texas in August! Hypothermia, yes, especially when immersed in cold water for several hours. But, real frostbite? Not a chance! Sadly, true "Journalists" are a nearly extinct species today. Silly and/or stupid mistakes and misstatements have become the norm. For example the "journalist" who was talking about the "mobile homes" damaged by Harvey. When the camera panned the area, it was obvious that what he was blathering about, but had no knowledge of, was an RV park full of travel trailers, both bumper pull and fifth wheel hitches. There was not a real "mobile home" in sight. Yes, there IS a difference, and a "real" news reporter would have familiarized himself with the subject.
Sadly, reporters and journalists of the Walter Cronkite/Chet Huntley/David Brinkley/Paul Harvey stripe are long gone.
The person who said they got frostbite was one of the Harvey volunteers, not the writer. Read before you bash
The person who said they got frostbite was one of the Harvey volunteers, not the writer. Read before you bash
Actually, I DID read the article, and I AM aware of who said what. That does not change the incidents (such as the referenced RV park incident) that brought about my indictment of today's so-called "journalists".
Another fine example, in the print media this time, is the picture in the local paper that identified an air tanker as a "lead plane". The picture was quite obviously a P2V-7 (SP-2H) Neptune air tanker (fire bomber). "Lead Planes" (aircraft that lead the air tankers to the drop zone) are usually small twin engine aircraft such as a Beechcraft Baron.
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At -4C, even seawater freezes solid.
