Your Chance To Live: Flood (1973)

Heat. Heat. [Music] The rains have stopped. But not before several days of torrential storms have inundated most of the northeast. And now floods of enormous and almost unprecedented magnitude are threatening the cities and towns along even the smallest tributaries. But in Larry Fletcher's mind, the aftermath of the storm only represents a challenge. He has assumed that the rains have deepened and made more exciting the once shallow and gentle creeks near his home. And he's decided to meet this [Music] challenge. Larry soon discovers, however, that he has been wrong. The familiar creeks he has explored since he was very young have risen only slightly over their normal level. Disappointed but undaunted, Larry Fletcher decides to continue on heading downstream toward the river. Very shortly, however, Larry's only thoughts will be of his own survival. [Music] [Music] To anyone upstream, the incredible foolishness of Larry's decision is obvious. obviously clear. The river, once slowm moving and placid, has been transformed into a raging, uncontrollable [Music] torrent. Debris and fallen trees are sped along, swirling insanely in the muddy waters. And the river has not crested yet. [Music] The severity of the storm and the flooding it has caused are not unknown to Larry. Attentively, he has listened to radio reports of mounting casualties, mounting damage. He has listened to reports of frenzied efforts at sandbagging before the river crests. But now caught up in his own private adventure, all of that is lost on him. It all seems so far away. If anything occurs to him, it is the thrill of anticipation. The anticipation of canoeing over what was only a few days ago dry land. Upstream, work continues as the pressures mount. Some people are evacuated. Streets are flooded. Businesses are forced to close. The water escaped from its boundaries is everywhere polluting everything it touches. And the normal routine of day-to-day living is brought to an abrupt [Music] halt. If there is any saving grace about floods, it is that they are predictable days, sometimes weeks in advance. This time, this advanced warning allows people to protect themselves by stocking up on [Music] essentials. In cities, industry uses the time it has to move valuable perishables to safety so that the effects of the flood will be less disruptive to commerce. And if all else fails, areas of special danger are evacuated or sealed [Music] The water that slips past Larry Fletcher's canoe is surprisingly quiet. The calm of his surroundings is a striking contrast to frantic rescue and sandbagging operations not far from him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he may have stored the warnings he has heard. Yet common sense, the common sense not to continue remains ignored. As Larry continues his still pleasant [Music] journey, the area covered by the floodwaters continues to spread. More and more ground slips underwater. Vast inland seas are created where there was nothing but flat farmland before. And the river still hasn't crested. [Music] For Larry Fletcher, the reality of his precarious situation should be obvious to him, but it isn't. The water around him, so recently gentle, has increased in speed. The adventure he has been seeking is finally a reality. As Larry works to control his canoe in the accelerating current, there is no fear, no anxiety, only the exhilaration he had hoped for. And then it happens. Sometimes all the effort, the preparations, the man-made fortresses against the flood work, and lives and property are saved. Sadly, in this case, they are swept aside like so many toys before the irresistible pressures of the river's crest. A pent up wall of water surges downstream, and Larry Fletcher's fantasy adventure in the midst of a growing tragedy is over. Caught up in the torrent of water created by the burst dam, his canoe has been swamped, leaving him at the mercy of the swollen river. He fights with all his strength for his life and prays for rescue. [Music] [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] In a flood, as in any disaster, a warning and knowledge of what to do is all the help an individual can be sure of. Don't count on luck. [Music]