Inaugural Carolina Rip Current Awareness Week begins as towns prepare for busy summer season

OAK ISLAND, NC (WWAY) — The summer beach season is just around the corner, and millions of Americans will soon be spending time in the ocean.

But before then, the National Weather Service is helping spread awareness about the dangers beachgoers could experience.

Sunday was the start of the inaugural Carolina Rip Current Awareness Week.

Throughout the week, National Weather Service stations along the Carolinas will be sharing tips and facts about rip currents and beach safety.

Rip currents are strong and narrow currents of water that can move swimmers up to hundreds of feet away from shore.

Oak Island Water Rescue Chief Terry Hoben explained what a rip current looks like from the shore.

“That wave coming in there and that wave coming there,” Hoben said. “If you saw flat water there, I mean flat all the way out, okay? 75 something yards and you see that those two waves coming in and you see those waves fade. What happens is they fade, the water goes like this, comes in and then they goes out that shoot and that’s the rip.”

Rip currents are the most frequent weather-related cause of death in North and South Carolina, resulting in nearly 200 deaths since 2000.

Hoben said it’s important to know what to do if you get caught in a rip current.

“You don’t panic, most importantly, if you’re a good swimmer. What you’re going to do is identify that you’re in a difficult situation and then you want to swim parallel to the beach. Most people get scared, they get frightened and then they start fighting and then they get a lot of adrenaline in their system and they become tired. And then the foam is over their head and that’s when they really get in real trouble.”

Hoben added that some towns like Oak Island have flotation devices placed near beach access points, so help can be given if a situation occurs, instead of waiting for someone from Water Rescue to arrive.

Hoben said such a device was used to rescue someone from a current on Saturday.

Make sure to pay attention to the color of the flags flying at the beach: green means low hazard, yellow is medium, and red is a high risk of rip currents.

Hoben said even in yellow or green conditions, as seen Saturday, rip currents can form, so remain aware of what’s going on around you when in the water.