Rip Currents: Don't Get Pulled In

September 1, 2010

Saturday, April 25

According to the Associated Press, a 70-year-old man from Washington, D. C., drowned after attempting to rescue two young boys caught in a rip current. The boys made it back alive, the man did not.

What is a rip current?

Rip currents are powerful, fast-moving channels of water (up to 8 feet per second) that typically flow from the shoreline to beyond the area where waves break. They can form on any beach or lake shore where waves are breaking, often near sandbars, jetties and piers.

This weekend is a holiday (Labor Day). I plan to go to Mission Bay Beach in San Diego, CA. My family and I vacation a lot in this beach. After knowing more on how rip currents occur, I plan to stay close to shore and keep my family save. No matter if you're the best swimmer in the entire world; a rip current is more powerful then what anybody expects. Before going to any beach, make sure you look for warning flags, specific surf conditions, and local rip current activity. I know I will.

If you get caught in a rip current, don't panic. These are a few simple rules you should follow if you get caught:

-Keep calm. Don't fight the rip current.

-To get out of the rip current, swim sideways, parallel to the beach. This will get you out of the rip current so you can swim back in with the waves helping you along.

-When out of the rip current, swim at an angle away from the rip current and toward shore.

-If you can't escape this way, try to float or calmly tread water. Rip current strength eventually weakens offshore.

-If at any time you are unable to reach the shore, draw attention to yourself: face the shore, wave your arms, and yell for help.

Rip Currents: Don't Get Pulled In

Rip Current in Pompano Beach, Florida

Friday, September 24, 2010

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