After Florida rip current deaths, a guide to the beachside danger causing drownings

In the past few days, drowning incidents have killed at least six people visiting Florida from out of state.

On Thursday, a 19-year-old man visiting from Oklahoma was caught in a rip current and drowned off of Panama City Beach. On the same day a couple from Pennsylvania died after getting caught in a rip current off of Stuart Beach on Hutchinson Island, officials said.

On Friday, three men visiting from Alabama drowned in the Gulf of Mexico, under red flags conditions where high surf, strong currents and hazardous conditions existed.

US surf zone fatalities

Last year, about 91 people died in rip currents at U.S. beaches, according to National Weather Service data. Most people who drown in rip currents and other surf hazards are boys and men between the ages of 10 and 29, data shows, and most of the deaths happen in June and July. Experts say rip currents are so dangerous because they can cause a swimmer to panic and try to swim toward shore, causing fatigue before they are ever able to break free from the current, which is pulling them out.

In 2023, Panama City rip currents claimed more lives than anywhere else in the United States, according to the data. At least eight people died there. Overall, Florida rip currents killed more than 30 people last year. That's compared with five who died in New Jersey and three each in California, South Carolina, and Louisiana.

How a rip current works:

A rip current is a narrow, strong current that flows quickly away from the shore. The currents often flow perpendicular to the shoreline, moving water away from the surf and into the ocean.

Normally, as waves pile water onto the beach, the water flows back out to sea in a uniform way. A low spot in the ocean floor near the surf or a break in a sandbar can break that uniform return flow, causing water to rush through one area and create a powerful current.

Rip currents are generally no wider than 80 feet and travel about 1 to 2 feet per second. But rip currents have been recorded moving as fast as 8 feet per second, or about 5.5 mph, faster than any Olympic swimmer.

Though it's often confused with a riptide or an undertow, a rip current is not the same, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. An undertow pulls under the surface, while a rip current flows out, not under.  Rip tides are strong currents that appear when the tide pulls out of an inlet. Though rip tides can affect swimmers, they are more of a danger to boats.

What to do during a rip current

◾ Relax: Rip currents pull you out, not under.

◾ Swim parallel to the beach and not against the current.

◾ Float or tread water until you escape the current or are rescued.

◾ Draw attention to yourself by yelling and waving.

How to help someone else:

◾ Alert a lifeguard.

◾ Dial 911.

◾ Throw the person something that floats.

◾ Don’t enter the water without a floatation device.

To avoid rip currents:

◾ Always swim at a lifeguard-protected beach.

◾ Check conditions before entering the water.

◾ Learn to identify rip currents.

◾ Ask hotels and rental companies where to find the closest lifeguard-protected beach.

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, Jim Ross, Teddy Maiorca

Sources: USA TODAY Network reporting and research; National Weather Service

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: After Florida rip current deaths, a guide to the beachside danger causing drownings