Drowning In The Desert

[GNC]

Interesting question posed at the end of Mythconceptions in FT 356: is it true more people drown in the Sahara Desert than die of dehydration? I have visions of stranded travellers gasping for water stumbling across an oasis and getting carried away by diving in.

 

[EnolaGaia]

Interesting question posed at the end of Mythconceptions in FT 356: is it true more people drown in the Sahara Desert than die of dehydration? I have visions of stranded travellers gasping for water stumbling across an oasis and getting carried away by diving in.

I don't know whether this longstanding claim is absolutely true (in statistical terms), but the risk of drowning in desert regions is much higher than most folks realize, owing to flash flooding ...

See, for example:

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=225926

http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/survival/wilderness/desert-survival7.htm

 

[GNC]

I didn't consider that! Combine that fact with most people in the Sahara being locals used to and prepared for the conditions rather than stranded pilots/motorists/etc and it would seem drowning in a flood would be more likely than running out of water and dying that way.