EDEN, N.C. — For most of us when we hear talk about a dam what comes to mind is some huge waterfall type thing designed to help turn the flow of water into energy to use at your house. But take a look at the dam in the Dan River that the family of tubers went over and four people died. Another person is still missing. That dam is a much smaller drop-off. And one of the survivors from that tubing trip says they didn't realize what it was.
"We were going and we heard the water a little bit before," Irene Villano said. "But we've been on the river before there's a little dip and you keep going, so that's what we thought it was. Before this all happened I didn't know it was down there I didn't know it was coming."
Even though the dam is not big, Madison-Mayodan's Recreation director Lee Mitchell says dams create a lot of powerful water that puts you in danger.
"Most of the time they're trying to generate power which is going to create a turbine system underwater. It's going to hold you under that water because it's made to generate energy and you just happen to be in an area you don't want to be in and shouldn't be in."
According to duke energy, they started building the dam in 2009. It has a 620-megawatt capacity. That creates enough energy to power nearly half a million homes.
How to avoid the dam
To help make sure you know exactly where this dam is if you go tubing, look at the satellite view. Before you get there you're going to go under one bridge which starts a big bend in the river. As you're coasting along you'll go under two more bridges where the river starts to turn back in the other direction. If you see that, paddle to the side and find a place to get out before you hit that dam.
That's a lot to remember weeks from now if you hit the water. So you can take a screenshot of that map and save it to your phone. And next time before you go tubing just whip it out again to take a look and remind yourselves of the warning signs.
Speaking of warning signs the sheriff's office says there are also signs on the river that the dam is coming up. But if for some reason you miss those, here's is the key takeaway of what to watch out for. You're going to see a drop-off that goes all the way across the river with a big building to the left. Remember a break like that across the entire river with the building beside it is not just some rapids. It's a dangerous dam and you need to swim as fast as you can to the side and hop out of the river.
What to do if you go over the dam
If you can't make it out and you do go over the falls - experts say don't panic - there's a special technique you can use to get to the shore.
First, try to escape by swimming hard to the side. If that doesn't work, swim hard into the current, curl up into a ball. That will submerse you below the circulation of the water into the underlying river current allowing you to escape.
Also think about this before hitting the water
Maybe you go tubing somewhere else or even if you go to the Dan River, it's important to know this dam is not the only dangerous part. Over the years we have covered so many poor people getting lost on a river somewhere or dealing with another issue of some kind. Water experts say tubing can be done safely and be a whole lot of fun, but there are some general safety guidelines you should follow.
WFMY News 2 spoke with a Madison-Mayodan Recreation Director about tips to keep at the forefront when taking a trip to a local river.
"You want to know the depth of the water. You want to know how fast it's moving. You wanna know what kind of obstacles you're going to face on the way whether it be low water rocks, rapids, dams, anything along those lines. you want to make sure you know what's going to be on your travel," said Mitchell.
He said even if you can swim, life jackets are important to at least have with you in case the unpredictable happens.
"You never know when a freak accident happens because it is a body of water, no different than a lake or an ocean. You hear about people that drown or are getting pulled in by riptides. Same thing with the river, it has its concerns too," he said.
If you and your family plan on going out on the river alone Mitchell suggests contacting the city or outfitter in the area for everything you need to know for safety.