Estimations of rip current rescues and drowning in the United States
<p>Rip currents are the greatest hazard to swimmers on surf beaches, but due to a lack of consistent incident reporting in many countries, it is often difficult to quantify the number of rip-current-related rescues and drowning deaths occurring along surf beaches. This study examines this prob...
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2019-02-01
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doaj-fac26f9c95004b5e9099f5e802c4f55b2020-11-24T23:11:10ZengCopernicus PublicationsNatural Hazards and Earth System Sciences1561-86331684-99812019-02-011938939710.5194/nhess-19-389-2019Estimations of rip current rescues and drowning in the United StatesB. C. Brewster0R. E. Gould1R. W. Brander2United States Lifesaving Association, 1968 South Coast Highway no. 740, Laguna Beach, California 92651, USAUnited States Lifesaving Association, 1968 South Coast Highway no. 740, Laguna Beach, California 92651, USASchool of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia<p>Rip currents are the greatest hazard to swimmers on surf beaches, but due to a lack of consistent incident reporting in many countries, it is often difficult to quantify the number of rip-current-related rescues and drowning deaths occurring along surf beaches. This study examines this problem using rescue data reported to the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA) by surf beach rescuers from 1997 through 2016. These data were checked, corrected, and culled so that only data from surf beach rescue agencies that reported the primary cause of rescue were included. Results show that rip currents are the primary cause of 81.9 % of rescues on surf beaches, with regional variation from 75.3 % (East Coast) to 84.7 % (West Coast). These values are significantly higher than those previously reported in the scientific literature (e.g., 36.5 %, 53.7 %). Using this value as a proxy when examining overall surf beach drowning fatalities, it is suggested that more than 100 fatal drownings per year occur due to rip currents in the United States. However, it is clear that the United States data would benefit by an increase in the number of lifeguard agencies which report surf-related rescues by primary cause.</p>https://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/19/389/2019/nhess-19-389-2019.pdf |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
B. C. Brewster R. E. Gould R. W. Brander |
spellingShingle |
B. C. Brewster R. E. Gould R. W. Brander Estimations of rip current rescues and drowning in the United States Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences |
author_facet |
B. C. Brewster R. E. Gould R. W. Brander |
author_sort |
B. C. Brewster |
title |
Estimations of rip current rescues and drowning in the United States |
title_short |
Estimations of rip current rescues and drowning in the United States |
title_full |
Estimations of rip current rescues and drowning in the United States |
title_fullStr |
Estimations of rip current rescues and drowning in the United States |
title_full_unstemmed |
Estimations of rip current rescues and drowning in the United States |
title_sort |
estimations of rip current rescues and drowning in the united states |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
series |
Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences |
issn |
1561-8633 1684-9981 |
publishDate |
2019-02-01 |
description |
<p>Rip currents are the greatest
hazard to swimmers on surf beaches, but due to a lack of consistent incident
reporting in many countries, it is often difficult to quantify the number of
rip-current-related rescues and
drowning deaths occurring along surf beaches. This study examines this
problem using rescue data reported to the United States Lifesaving
Association (USLA) by surf beach rescuers from 1997 through 2016. These data
were checked, corrected, and culled so that only data from surf beach rescue
agencies that reported the primary cause of rescue were included. Results
show that rip currents are the primary cause of 81.9 % of rescues on surf
beaches, with regional variation from 75.3 % (East Coast) to 84.7 %
(West Coast). These values are significantly higher than those previously
reported in the scientific literature (e.g., 36.5 %, 53.7 %). Using
this value as a proxy when examining overall surf beach drowning fatalities,
it is suggested that more than 100 fatal drownings per year occur due to rip
currents in the United States. However, it is clear that the United States
data would benefit by an increase in the number of lifeguard agencies which
report surf-related rescues by primary cause.</p> |
url |
https://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/19/389/2019/nhess-19-389-2019.pdf |
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AT bcbrewster estimationsofripcurrentrescuesanddrowningintheunitedstates AT regould estimationsofripcurrentrescuesanddrowningintheunitedstates AT rwbrander estimationsofripcurrentrescuesanddrowningintheunitedstates |
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