June 2022 — Rip Currents
Rip currents—strong, narrow currents that extend from close to the shoreline through the surf zone and out past the line of breaking waves—account for hundreds of drownings and thousands of rescues every year on beaches around the world. In fact, they claim more lives in Australia on average each year than bushfires, floods, cyclones and sharks combined. Similar statistics apply to rip current drownings in the U.S.
The best protection against rip currents is prevention: Learn to swim, never swim alone, and always swim at lifeguard-protected beaches. If you are caught in a rip current, here are some helpful tips:
Stay calm, don’t fight the current.
Escape the current by swimming in a direction following the shoreline. When free of the current, swim at an angle--away from the current--toward shore.
If you are unable to escape by swimming, float or tread water. When the current weakens, swim at an angle away from the current toward shore.
If at any time you feel you will be unable to reach shore, draw attention to yourself: Face the shore, call or wave for help.
To learn more about rip currents, check out the June 2022 episode of SeaTalk.
Notable Dates in June
June is National Ocean Month, a time to celebrate and learn about our world ocean. Check out the NOAA’s official celebration page for ways to learn and explore.
June 8 — On World Oceans Day, people around our blue planet celebrate and honor our ocean, which connects us all. Get together with your family, friends, community, and millions of others around our blue planet to start creating a better future. Learn more at the official webpage.
June 15 — Global Wind Day is a worldwide event that encourages discovering wind energy, its power and the possibilities it holds to reshape our energy systems and to decarbonize our economies and boost jobs and growth. To learn more about wind power in Delaware, visit the official webpage of UD’s Center for Research in Wind.
The Ocean Currents Lecture Series from UD’s College of Earth, Ocean & Environment, continues this summer from June to August, and is free and open to the public. To register for any of the Ocean Currents talks, visit the official registration page.