Swimmers Warned To Keep An Eye Out For Rip Currents
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- On a weekend packed with outdoor activities like beach days, swimmers are warned to keep safe and keep an eye out for rip currents.
These narrow, fast-moving channels of water will not pull you underwater but instead pull you away from the shore.
NOAA officials advise if you get caught in one, make sure not to swim against. That will only tire you out. Instead, swim out of the rip current by swimming parallel to the shore along the beach then follow the breaking waves back to land at an angle.
But the best way to avoid this situation is prevention. You can either learn how to spot them or ask a lifeguard about the beach conditions when you get there.
To spot it, look for places where waves aren't breaking meaning they will look like flat spots. There may also be foam or sediment in the water that is being moved away from the shore, according to NOAA.
They are easiest to spot from an elevated position like a dune line or beach access.
If someone you know gets caught in one, do not try to swim into it. Instead call a lifeguard or throw the victim something that floats.
According to NOAA, lifeguards rescue tens of thousands of people from rip currents in the U.S. every year. Out of that, 100 people are killed in rip currents each year.