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<\/div>\nA firefighter from Georgia and two fathers who drowned while trying to save their children are among at least 10 recent victims of dangerous rip currents along Gulf of Mexico beaches stretching across Florida\u2019s Panhandle to Mobile, Alabama.<\/p>\n
Many of the deaths happened on days with double red flags \u2013 which are posted at beach entrances and on lifeguard stations to warn beachgoers of potential rip currents. Since mid-June, there have been six deaths around Panama City Beach in Florida.<\/p>\n
Nearby, in Destin, Florida, ex-NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett, 35, drowned Tuesday, but local officials said rip currents weren\u2019t observed \u2013 and that day, yellow caution flags, not double red flags, were flying at the beach.<\/p>\n
Three people drowned off the coast of Alabama between June 20 and June 23, according to the Gulf Shores Police Department.<\/p>\n
The Gulf of Mexico\u2019s white sandy beaches are a draw for tourists, and as the busy Fourth of July holiday approaches, officials are hoping beachgoers will take extra precaution.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m beyond frustrated at the situation that we have with tragic and unnecessary deaths in the Gulf,\u201d Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford wrote in a Facebook post, accompanied by an aerial view that shows deep trenches that rip currents dug into the shoreline along Panama City Beach. \u201cI have watched while deputies, firefighters and lifeguards have risked their lives to save strangers. I have seen strangers die trying to save their children and loved ones, including two fathers on Father\u2019s Day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ford says his deputies have been cursed at as they\u2019ve tried to warn visitors of the \u201dlife-threatening dangers\u201d in the Gulf of Mexico.<\/p>\n
He said deputies have handed out $500 fines when they\u2019ve seen people in the water during double red flag days.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have the resources or time to cite every single person that enters the water but we do our absolute best to use it as a deterrent to entering the water, \u201d Ford said, explaining that an arrest is only authorized upon a second offense, unless the person resists law enforcement.<\/p>\n
The sheriff notes there is only so much local officials can do, so he\u2019s asking tourists and residents to pay close attention to the flag status at the beach.<\/p>\n
\u201dPersonal responsibility is the only way to ensure that no one else dies,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
That message is echoed by Greg Dusek, a senior scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s ocean service unit. He said that people can\u2019t always see the deep channels on the shoreline caused by rip currents, or even tell how dangerous conditions are by the weather.<\/p>\n
\u201cWaves can happen when there\u2019s a storm where you are, but they can also happen from storms far away,\u201d Dusek said. \u201cIt can be a really nice day at the beach, beautiful, not even much wind. But you have swells coming in from storms hundreds of miles away potentially, and those waves are big enough to drive in rip currents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those are the days that officials often see higher numbers of water rescues and drownings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I think one of the big messages needs to be: Understand the flag system for the beach you are going to, and follow that guidance,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A rip current is a powerful, narrow channel of water flowing away from the beach and often extending through the breaker zone where waves form. They can emerge on sunny days, and can quickly sweep even the strongest swimmer out to sea.<\/p>\n
\u201cA rip current, basically, is water likes to go downhill. When breaking waves hit the shore, they get pushed up the beach,\u201d said Daniel Noah, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Ruskin, Florida. \u201cIt\u2019s trying to find the easiest way to get back into the water. And it finds these rip current channels and it can rapidly move back into the Gulf or the ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe movement of water has a lot of force,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s dangerous for kids, it\u2019s dangerous for adults, it\u2019s dangerous for vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the popular Shark Week documentaries and the movie \u201cJaws\u201d may have etched the fear of sharks into many beachgoers, drownings caused by rip currents claim many more lives. For example, in 2022 there were 108 documented shark bites of all types on humans worldwide, according to the International Shark File at the Florida Museum of Natural History. Of those, Florida accounted for 16 bites, all nonfatal, among the 41 in the U.S. There was one fatality in Hawaii.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, through June 24, 2023, NOAA statistics show 55 deaths related to rip currents in the U.S. The seven deaths in Panama City Beach came between June 15 and 24.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if there are red flags flying, people look at the water and say, \u2018Oh, I\u2019ve been in waves that big before. It doesn\u2019t look that dangerous,’\u201d Dusek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany times people don\u2019t think about it, and they\u2019re caught off guard by the risk,\u201d he said. \u201cI guess that\u2019s natural human mentality. You get to the beach, you just want to have a good time with your family. You\u2019re not necessarily thinking about what can go wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Photo: Former Baltimore Ravens quarterback Ryan Mallett, died in a drowning near Destin, Florida. (AP Photo\/Nick Wass, File)<\/em><\/p>\n Topics<\/span> Florida<\/a> Alabama<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Was this article valuable?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n