Rip currents claiming lives of swimmers along US beaches

[question everything]

Source: Miami Herald

POINT PLEASANT BEACH, N.J.

Rip currents have caused several deaths at the New Jersey shore this summer, prompting warnings from lifeguards and weather forecasters for swimmers to be aware and keep themselves safe.

Six people died between June and July due to rip currents in New Jersey, including a 24-year-old Slovakian woman in the U.S. to work a summer job on the shore.

Rip currents are to blame for most of the 59 deaths that have occurred in the surf zone along the nation's beaches so far this year, and scientists are hoping swimmers pay closer attention to the narrow currents that pull them away from the shore. Rip currents have claimed 735 lives in the U.S. since 2002.

There were 40 rip current deaths nationwide by the end of July compared with 58 in all of 2016, data from the National Weather Service shows . Florida leads the nation with 11 so far this year. New Jersey and Texas had six and North Carolina had five.




Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/article165430832.html

[barbtries]

1. do we not have lifeguards anymore?

i was rescued when i was a kid; didn't even know i was in trouble, but apparently i wasn't getting anywhere. this was on the west coast and dang almost 50 years ago. there were flags and you could only swim between the flags and lifeguards were there.

[haele]

4. Don't know about the East coast, but here in California, we've still got lifeguards and flags.

There is also the difference that the California coastline cannot be private; an individual cannot "own" a beach or access to the beach, even though they can own beachfront property. So there are always lifeguards posted or emergency call boxes to summon county lifeguards when someone gets into trouble. We might lose one or two swimmers to Rip Currents a year by accident.
Beach safety - especially Rip Current safety - is also drilled into kids who live along the coast between school and public announcements.

Were these Rip Current drownings on private or public beaches?

Haele

[barbtries]

5. i would assume public.

but i don't know.

it seems like so many people to be dying though doesn't it?

[Retrograde]

14. Maybe in southern California

In the northern part of the state (SF and points north) beaches don't have lifeguards. Ocean Beach in San Francisco has some signs for those brave enough to venture in, but then people around here bundle up to go to the beach (thanks, Alaska current). Sharks do get an occasional surfer, though.

I think these drownings occur more on the East Coast is that 1) the water is warm enough to swim in, 2) people don't realize that nature can kill if you're careless, and 3) news agencies tend to report happenings on the East Coast more than they do on the West Coast.

[crazycatlady]

7. nj beaches do

But you have to pay to get on the beach during regular hours and many people swim after hours to avoid paying (after 5)

[barbtries]

8. and i take it the lifeguards leave then.

i've heard taxes are high in NJ, but sometimes i wonder where the money goes.

[crazycatlady]

9. Correct

Sometimes they stay an additional hour or so.

They call everyone out of the water when they leave for the day. After hours, it is swim at your own risk.

The $$ from the beach passes goes to lifeguards and maintaining the beach (combing, trash removal, etc).

[Dawson Leery]

2. kick

[sdfernando]

3. If you get caught in a rip current, 1st - don't panic!

2nd - you should swim parallel to the shoreline until you are out of the current...then swim back to the beach.

Most rip currents are narrow so it shouldn't take long to get clear.

[yallerdawg]

6. I got caught in a rip current at Galveston Beach when I was in high school.

I swam and swam, and went farther out. Shore got farther and farther away. I was exhausted. It was over. My arms and legs stopped, and I faced death.

I'm dead, was all I thought.

Then, my knees hit ground! I was in three feet of water!

I had landed on the top of a sand bar out there!

That was in early '70's. Never, ever saw 'the beach' the same way again.

[question everything]

11. Wow! This is some story

glad the sand bar was there

[GulfCoast66]

10. beaches are high energy, dangerous places

I love them and as a Floridian spend a good bit of time enjoying them, usually with a fishing pole in my hand. But even on a calm day you are talking 1000's of tons of water hitting a solid shoreline.

And there is no way to have lifeguards on all of Florida's beaches. There are just way too many miles of them. The cities do, but we have many unincorporated areas with miles and miles of beaches. Plus state parks where development is kept to a minimum.

Swimming in the surf is like driving, if you do it, you take a chance of death or injury.

Have a nice evening.

[Kennah]

12. Pay no attention to the Climate Change. Nothing to see here. Move along. Move along. (n/t)

[Grammy23]

13. We have life guards at Pensacola Beach. There is a flag system in place to warn everyone

when the water is churning and has rip currents in it. Hotels have brochures explaining the flag system, what rip tides are, how to get out of one, etc. Oh, and when to STAY OUT OF THE WATER. When you drive through the toll booth entering Pensacola Beach there is a sign warning you of conditions in the water that day.

No one should say they didn't know unless they are three years old. And still, regular as clockwork, we have people hauled out by life guards throughout the beach season. Sometimes they make it but sadly, often they don't. Most are tourists, but even locals can get lulled into thinking they know how to handle a rip current. It is sad but as predictable as ants at a picnic.

I am at a loss at what else can be done short of fining the crap out of them when they have to be pulled out by lifeguards. And not just $25. Make it count and sting a little bit. In Colorado, if you deviate from the marked ski trails and the ski patrol has to risk their lives and limbs to get your stupid ass back to safety, you get heavily fined. Or at least it used to be that way. Signs at the Denver Airport advised arrivals of that fact. Maybe the beaches need to do the same thing. Call it the Stupid Tax or This Is Your Lucky Day Fee, but something needs to be done to stop these senseless deaths.

[crazycatlady]

15. NJ has a flag system too

They're red, yellow, or green depending on the conditions. (Same system as a traffic light--- red means stop and green go). HOwever, the flags are attached to the lifeguard chairs and are removed when they leave for the day (5). I won't go in past my knees if the flag is red. I injured my arm in heavy surf the other day and just now can get dressed without pain.

One thing I wish they would do here with rip currents (and water safety in general) is go into the schools in the Shore communities and teach kids about water safety--- even a one hour assembly presentation taught by lifeguards can make a difference. There are many young victims of rip currents.

As far as fining. I've never been pulled in by a lifeguard (I have been caught in a rip current-- scary-- but my neighbor, a former lifeguard, pulled me out. I gave him a 6 pack in return) but how would you handle it with children. My cousin was pulled in by a lifeguard at 7 and a $25 fine would have broken the bank at that age.

NJ's problem is that because they charge for beaches, many people go after hours (when the lifeguards leave).

[RussBLib]

16. rip currents have been fierce in south texas for months

and we have lifeguards and flags on the main beaches here at South Padre Island. If you're stupid, you can always go further north until there are no lifeguards, where no one can hear you scream for help.