Deep waters

"Delivered from gravity, I flew around in space¡K" Jacques Cousteau, diver

Deep waters are among the most dangerous places in the world. There is little or no light and the pressure from the water is too great for the human body to stand - an unprotected diver would be crushed.

Diving suits, such as the NEWTSUIT, allow people to explore the depths, and are also used in rescue situations. In emergencies, a range of special rescue vessels is used. Submersibles are mini-submarines which can transfer emergency supplies to the crews of damaged submarines, and can rescue crew members if necessary. "Hyperbaric chambers" bring injured deep-sea divers to the surface at a steady pressure: if they ascend too quickly, they can suffer from a potentially fatal illness called "the bends".

Fatal tides

"After 12 freezing hours stranded at the sea, the sight of the lifeboat was like a miracle." Survivor of shipwreck, North Sea, 1988

In Britain alone coastguard services receive about 5,000 calls a year. Coastguard monitor shipping activity and are usually the first to call out naval or air rescue services. A usual lifeboat crew consists of between five and seven people whereas inflatable lifeboats are crewed by just to or three. Around 1,500 lives are saved every year by volunteer lifeboat crews. Many distress calls come from people caught unawares by an incoming tide or by an incoming tide or by waves which suddenly crash on to the shore, leaving them cut off and stranded on rocks or in a bay. Some of the stranded attempt to swim to shore which can end in disaster as strong tidal currents can carry a person becomes cold and wet, there is a risk of hypothermia - a potentially fatal condition in which the body temperature drops well below normal. Often, the first task of a rescuer is to wrap the survivor in warm blankets to help raise the body temperature. With the growing popularity of watersports, the number of emergency call-outs increases. In open seas, currents can wash small boats way off course. Here, US coastguards rescue a group of refugees from Haiti, whose boat had been washed off course.

Floods

"I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth: everything that is on the land shall die." God's word's in the Bible

Over just a few days, relentless rain can submerge whole towns. "Flash floods" are even more terrifying because of the speed at which they happen. In storms, torrential rain can flood normally calm rivers in under 30 minutes. This is not surprising when a raindrop can measure 1 cm (1/2 in) in diameter and a hailstone up to 10 cm (3in) in diameter!

Water is heavy and, when it is moving at great speed, it becomes a battering ram that can sweep whole houses along in its path. Cars can also become death traps. Witnesses report hearing screams for help above the roar of flood waters, but are often powerless to help victims trapped areas, people often use boats or rafts to get away from their homes.

The battle against flooding is fought by building effective barriers and by forecasting floods before they happen so the area can be evacuated. But, emergency warnings often come too late, or people refuse to abandon their homes. Floods don't just cause drowning. Mud and broken sewage pipes contaminate drinking water, causing disease to spread and, without aid, many people starve.

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