Beware of Dangerous Rip Currents
March 17, 2006
Contact: Marsha Gear, Communications Director, mgear@ucsd.edu, 858-534-0581
As thousands of people from around the nation head to the beach this month for spring break, the California Sea Grant College Program wants every swimmer to know about the dangers of deadly rip currents.
[California Sea Grant has had 300 of these alluminum signs printed in both English and Spanish to be posted on the beaches of California.]
These currents of water cause at least 100 deaths each year in the United States and can sweep even the strongest swimmer out to sea.
California Sea Grant will be working with the lifeguards in Southern California cities this spring to provide free rip currents warning signs in English and Spanish for posting at local beaches. This is part of a national public awareness campaign developed last year by the National Sea Grant College Program, the National Weather Service (NWS) and the U.S. Lifesaving Association (USLA) to educate beachgoers about the dangers of these fast-moving currents. The “Break the Grip of the Rip” campaign (http://www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov/) promotes beach safety and the use of rip current forecasts in local weather forecasts and warnings.
As part of their regular forecasting, the NWS produces high surf warnings and hazardous weather outlooks that advise when the risk of rip currents is moderate or high. Find your coastal destination at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/
The national rip current campaign recommends that beachgoers:
Learn how to swim and never swim alone
Be cautious at all times, especially when swimming at unguarded beaches
Whenever possible, swim at lifeguard-protected beaches and obey all instructions from lifeguards.
A rip current is a horizontal current. Rip currents do not pull people under the water; they pull people away from shore. Drowning deaths occur when people pulled offshore are unable to keep themselves afloat and swim to shore.
If you are caught in a rip current:
Remain calm to conserve energy and think clearly.
Don’t fight the current by trying to swim straight to shore.
Escape the current by swimming in a direction following the shoreline. When free of the current, swim at an angle away from the current toward shore.
If you are unable to escape by swimming, float or tread water. When the current weakens, swim at an angle away from the current toward shore.
If you cannot reach the shore, draw attention to yourself by facing the shore and calling or waving for help.
Many people have died trying to rescue rip current victims. If you see someone in trouble:
Get help from a lifeguard.
If there is no lifeguard:
Yell instructions on how to escape
Throw the victim something that floats
Have someone call 9-1-1
Rip current velocities usually are one to two feet per second, but speeds have been measured as fast as eight feet per second – faster than an Olympic swimmer. The strength and speed of a rip current generally increases with higher, more frequent waves, and they are likely to be the most dangerous during high surf conditions. They typically form at low spots or breaks in sandbars and near groins, jetties and piers. They can be very narrow or more than 50 yards wide. The seaward pull also varies – sometimes a rip current ends just beyond the line of breaking waves, but others continue to push hundreds of yards offshore.
Some clues that may indicate the presence of a rip current include a channel of churning, choppy water; an area with a noticeable difference in water color; a line of foam, seaweed or debris moving steadily seaward; and a break in the incoming wave pattern. However, these signs are not always visible.
NOAA's California Sea Grant is a statewide, multi-university program of marine research, extension services, and education activities. It is the largest of the nation's 30 Sea Grant programs and is headquartered at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. The National Sea Grant College Program is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce.
Note to reporters/editors: color and black & white photos and graphics re: rip currents are available at http://www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov/
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