The beach can turn deadly: Here’s how to avoid dangers while vacationing

NAGS HEAD — Numerous beachgoers around Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head left their belongings and fled the beach Thursday, June 27, as an afternoon thunderstorm unleashed powerful wind and driving rain.

The wind sent one blue beach canopy into the air and then into the Atlantic Ocean.

In the upstairs event room at the pier, local ocean rescue and emergency management personnel, along with a representative from the National Weather Service, gave an approximately 40-minute news conference on beach safety.

The beach canopy bungle underscored a safety tip they shared: Take belongings with you when you leave the beach. The main risk at the beach is rip currents, they said.

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Know how to escape a rip current.

Powerful currents of water moving away from shore, rip currents account for about 80% of all ocean rescues, according to the National Weather Service website. Rip currents cause an estimated 100 fatalities annually in the United States.

“Rip currents kill more people in our area than tornadoes, flooding, lightning and wind combined,” said Erik Heden, the warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

Since 2000, nearly 200 rip current drownings have been recorded in North and South Carolina, according to Heden, with out-of-state residents representing about half of the deaths.

He encouraged people to check the rip current forecast at www.weather.gov/beach before heading to the beach. Information is also available on the NWS Morehead City social media pages. People living or vacationing in Dare County can sign up for county-specific alerts and forecasts that are part of its award-winning “Love the Beach, Respect the Ocean” campaign .

Anyone caught in a rip current should “relax, stay calm, float to conserve energy” and not try to swim against the current, he said. Those who are able can swim out of the current by swimming parallel to the shoreline in either direction, and those unable to should call or wave for help.

“Lifeguards locally and nationally have understood the most impacting hazards on our patrons are rip currents and what happens if you wait until the last breath,” said David Elder, ocean rescue supervisor for the town of Kill Devil Hills.

“Fifteen years ago, we locally initiated a study on rip currents to identify how to prepare for rip currents, to prevent injury and manage the hazards,” Elder said.

He explained that this effort helped establish a relationship among the local lifeguard agencies and the National Weather Service and yielded the experimental rip current forecast used today.

“Our hope is that eventually it will no longer be considered experimental,” Elder said.

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Mind the flags.

“Don’t ever get in the water if we’re flying red flags,” Heden said.

Dare County ocean rescue agencies use yellow and red flags to indicate moderate and high hazards, respectively.

Yellow flags discourage weaker swimmers from entering the ocean, and red flags discourage all swimmers from entering, according to Chad Motz, ocean rescue captain for the town of Nags Head.

Nags Head earlier this year adopted a flag system that also includes a double red flag, which indicates ocean swimming is unlawful. Ocean entry assisted by a surfboard or by a bodyboard and fins is still allowed on days when double red flags are flying.

That flag system is used at beaches nationally and internationally, according to Motz.

He also cautioned beachgoers on days without flags.

“No flag means low risk; low risk does not mean no risk,” Motz noted.

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Swim at a lifeguarded beach.

Officials urged swimming at a lifeguarded beach for added safety.

Lifeguards can provide beachgoers with all the current local information, according to Mirek Dabrowski, owner and chief lifeguard of Surf Rescue, which provides lifeguard services to the towns of Duck and Southern Shores, as well as to Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

“Just in general they have an infinite amount of wisdom and information on the Outer Banks,” Dabrowski said.

“Ask them the questions you don’t know; they’re there to help you,” Dare County Emergency Management Director Drew Pearson said.

Molly Greenwood, Hatteras Island Rescue Squad supervisor, cautioned beachgoers about shorebreak — waves that break on shore with force and can cause serious injury or death — and rogue waves.

“Rogue waves appear suddenly and unexpectedly, even on calm and small swell days,” Greenwood said.

Children are especially vulnerable to both, and she advised never turning your back to the ocean and keeping a distance from the shoreline, “especially if you’re walking with small children.”

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Be prepared.

Ben Abe, captain of water rescue for Chicamacomico Banks Volunteer Fire Department, cautioned people about “blue sky hazards” at the beach.

Sunscreen, hydration and footwear are necessary precautions for hot, sunny days, Abe said.

He encouraged taking breaks in the shade and limiting alcohol consumption on the beach, since “when you’re outside, it dehydrates you quickly.”

Abe also works as a paramedic for the county, and said he was working on the ambulance that the day prior had transported a man in Duck to the hospital with second-degree burns from walking in the sand “just long enough that it burned the soles completely off both of his feet.”

Beachgoers with diabetes or other medical conditions sometimes will not be able to feel their skin burning, Elder said. He recalled a similar case in Kill Devil Hills where a man had second-degree burns on both his feet from the sand.

“So think about the ability of the least able in your group to deal with heat, and angle everything that way,” Elder said.

Dare County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Jack Scarborough, director of the 911 Communications Center, said that people should take note of their location, including which beach access or ramp they used and which direction they went after arriving. Anyone calling 911 should be prepared to answer many questions.

“Know while you’re answering those questions, it is not delaying help; there’s someone else in the room that is sending help as soon as the call comes in,” Scarborough said.

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Don’t dig it.

If you dig holes, keep them shallow and fill them in before you leave.

Digging beach holes gained recent popularity through online trends, “but that’s not necessarily a safe practice,” Mike Henry, chief ranger for Cape Hatteras National Seashore said.

Deep holes are unstable and can collapse on the people digging the holes, causing serious injury, and can also impede emergency responders and wildlife, Henry said.

He suggested not digging holes deeper than knee-deep and filling them in before leaving the area “to ensure that other people coming along can use the beach in a safe manner.”

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Clean up.

Take belongings with you when you leave the beach.

“When we leave items like chairs, umbrellas, coolers and toys on the beach we might not realize the significant impact they have,” Joe Case of Kitty Hawk Ocean Rescue said.

Unmanned beach equipment can become a tripping hazard for other beachgoers or a wind-driven projectile, Case said. It can obstruct lifeguards’ and emergency workers’ paths, potentially delaying assistance for those needing help.

Unmanned equipment can also be hazardous to wildlife, particularly sea turtles.

“Items left on the beach (overnight) can obstruct their path, making it difficult or impossible for them to reach their suitable nesting spots,” Case said.

Unattended objects can also be swept into the ocean by tides or winds, becoming marine debris that can entangle or entrap wildlife. Plastic items break down into microplastic, “which is ingested by a wide range of marine organisms, disrupting ecosystems and food chains,” Case said.

“By being responsible beachgoers, we can protect wildlife, reduce pollution and maintain the natural beauty of our coastal environment,” he said.

Related Articles

• Local News | Dare County’s ‘Love the Beach, Respect the Ocean’ campaign clinches national award
• Local News | Nags Head adds new ‘double red’ warning flag outlawing ocean swimming on dangerous days

For more information, visit LoveTheBeachRespectTheOcean.com . To sign up for daily text messages of Dare County beach condition forecasts and alerts, text “OBXBeachConditions” to 77295.