We had one of those 500 year rain events one summer, and the deluge washed a stick of firewood into the big lake. When I went to check on the dams, I found the 18" horizontal overflow plugged with debris, including the firewood. Water was pouring over the emergency spillway..... not bad yet, but it was still raining cats and dogs.
I thought I knew better than to get in the water to try and remove the blockage, so I stripped to my shorts and straddled the submerged pipe, and was attempting to reach down with just my arms, rather than having the greater mass of my body in front of the opening. I had to work by feel, with my head underwater and my chin resting on top of the pipe.
I cleared some of the smaller debris, and the stick suddenly came loose and shot down the pipe. I didn't pull it loose, it just came loose on its own. The force of the water grabbed my arms and pulled me over the pipe in a somersault....luckily, I went over at an angle, rather than directly in front of the opening, and I was able to get further off to the side and climb out.
It was over in a few seconds, and I didn't actually get scared until after the fact. I was there alone, and didn't have a phone, not that I could've used one to call for help anyway. Had things been just a little different, I have no doubt I would've drowned.
