How many people die in rip currents in NC?
17 Fatalities in 2019: 10 Rip Currents, 2 High Surf, 3 Other/Currents, 1 Unknown
| Rip Current | High Surf | Other |
|---|---|---|
| Atlantic Beach: 2 Buxton Cape Hatteras: 2 Duck Emerald Isle: 2 Kure Beach Pine Knolls Shores Topsail Beach | Emerald Isle: 2 | Kure Beach Oak Island, NC (shorebreak current) Wrightsville Beach (inlet current) |
How many people do rip currents kill a year?
100 people
Approximately 100 people die every year in the United States alone from ocean rip currents and other surf zone incidents, a number greater than the average death toll from tornadoes, lightning or flash flooding.
Can rip currents pull you underwater?
A rip current won’t pull you underwater. It’ll just pull you away from shore. If you feel that you’re able to swim, do so parallel to the shore until you’re out of the current and then swim back to shore at an angle. If you feel that you can’t swim, tread or back float, try to wave and yell for help while floating.
How do you spot a rip current?
To spot a rip current, look for a break or flat spot in the waves, or as an area of white water that moves away from the shore. Rip currents are strong currents of water that flow from near the shoreline, outwards to sea. Surfers use them to help paddle out past breaking waves.
What’s a rip current in the ocean?
A rip current, sometimes incorrectly called a rip tide, is a localized current that flows away from the shoreline toward the ocean, perpendicular or at an acute angle to the shoreline. It usually breaks up not far from shore and is generally not more than 25 meters (80 feet) wide.
What should you do if you get caught in a rip tide?
If you do get caught in a rip current, the best thing you can do is stay calm. It’s not going to pull you underwater, it’s just going to pull you away from shore. Call and wave for help. You want to float, and you don’t want to swim back to shore against the rip current because it will just tire you out.
How far can a rip current take you out to sea?
Generally speaking, a riptide is less than 100 ft. wide, so swimming beyond it should not be too difficult. If you cannot swim out of the riptide, float on your back and allow the riptide to take you away from shore until you are beyond the pull of the current. Rip currents generally subside 50 to 100 yards from shore.