ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Stinging jellyfish, rays with their whip-like tails and sharks on the hunt are some ocean hazards that might typically worry beachgoers.
But rip currents are the greatest danger and account for the most beach rescues every year. Six people drowned in rip currents over a recent two-day period in Florida, including a couple vacationing on Hutchinson Island from Pennsylvania with their six children and three young men on a Panhandle holiday from Alabama, officials say. About 100 people drown from rip currents along U.
S. beaches each year, according to the United States Lifesaving Association. And more than 80% of beach rescues annually involve rip currents.
The National Weather Service lists 16 known deaths so far in 2024 from rip currents in U.S. waters, including the Florida fatalities as well as eight deaths in Puerto Rico and two in Texas.
Here are some things to know about rip currents: Rip currents are narrow columns of water flowing rapidly away from the beach, like a swift stream within the ocean. They don’t pull swimmers under water, but can carry them out a fair distance from shore. Low spots along the beach, or areas near jetties or piers, are often where rip currents form.
They can be connected to stormy weather but also sometimes occur during sunny days. They can be hard to detect because the surface water often appears calm. The current can flow as swiftly as eight feet per second (3.
2 meters per second), faster than even a strong sw.