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Rip current escape strategies: lessons for swimmers and coastal rescue authorities

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  • M. Miloshis
  • W. Stephenson

Abstract

Lagrangian flow of two rip currents was measured using human drifters to understand how variations in surf zone circulation affect exit positions of floating swimmers. Based on these results, two escape strategies were assessed, ‘do nothing’ and ‘swim parallel to the beach’. The drifter paths and exit positions were analysed to determine the best escape strategy for passive swimmers in each scenario. Of the two methods, doing nothing to allow the rip current to take a swimmer is the most effective strategy. More than 75% of rip current flow scenarios could hinder chances of escape of swimmers if the wrong direction was chosen to swim parallel to the beach to safety. This is because in many situations a swimmer encounters not only a rip current flowing offshore but also a longshore current flowing parallel to the beach. The best education campaign for the public, in addition to only swimming on a patrolled beach, would be to promote the ‘do nothing’ rip current escape strategy, as it covers all flow scenarios without reducing a swimmer’s chance of survival. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

Suggested Citation

  • M. Miloshis & W. Stephenson, 2011. "Rip current escape strategies: lessons for swimmers and coastal rescue authorities," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 59(2), pages 823-832, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:59:y:2011:i:2:p:823-832
    DOI: 10.1007/s11069-011-9798-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Victor Gensini & Walker Ashley, 2010. "An examination of rip current fatalities in the United States," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 54(1), pages 159-175, July.
    2. מחקר - ביטוח לאומי, 2006. "Summary for 2005," Working Papers 29, National Insurance Institute of Israel.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ben Van Leeuwen & R. McCarroll & Robert Brander & Ian Turner & Hannah Power & Anthony Bradstreet, 2016. "Examining rip current escape strategies in non-traditional beach morphologies," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 81(1), pages 145-165, March.
    2. Baris Barlas & Serdar Beji, 2016. "Rip current fatalities on the Black Sea beaches of Istanbul and effects of cultural aspects in shaping the incidents," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 80(2), pages 811-821, January.
    3. Bruno Castelle & R. McCarroll & Robert Brander & Timothy Scott & Benjamin Dubarbier, 2016. "Modelling the alongshore variability of optimum rip current escape strategies on a multiple rip-channelled beach," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 81(1), pages 663-686, March.
    4. Ben R. Van Leeuwen & R. Jak McCarroll & Robert W. Brander & Ian L. Turner & Hannah E. Power & Anthony J. Bradstreet, 2016. "Examining rip current escape strategies in non-traditional beach morphologies," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 81(1), pages 145-165, March.
    5. R. McCarroll & Robert Brander & Jamie MacMahan & Ian Turner & Ad Reniers & Jenna Brown & Anthony Bradstreet & Shauna Sherker, 2014. "Evaluation of swimmer-based rip current escape strategies," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 71(3), pages 1821-1846, April.
    6. Archie Withers & Sergio Maldonado, 2021. "On the swimming strategies to escape a rip current: a mathematical approach," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 108(2), pages 1449-1467, September.
    7. Bruno Castelle & R. Jak McCarroll & Robert W. Brander & Timothy Scott & Benjamin Dubarbier, 2016. "Modelling the alongshore variability of optimum rip current escape strategies on a multiple rip-channelled beach," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 81(1), pages 663-686, March.
    8. Anna Boqué Ciurana & Melisa Ménendez & María Suárez Bilbao & Enric Aguilar, 2022. "Exploring the Climatic Potential of Somo’s Surf Spot for Tourist Destination Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-21, July.

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