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.

Can you survive a rip tide?

Riptides, or rip currents, are long, narrow bands of water that quickly pull any objects in them away from shore and out to sea. They are dangerous but are relatively easy to escape if you stay calm. Do not struggle against the current. Most riptide deaths are not caused by the tides themselves.

Can a rip tide pull you under water?

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.

What are the chances of surviving a riptide?

A swimmer stuck in a circulating rip has no way of knowing which way the current is flowing. That means that by swimming parallel to the shore—something signs at nearly every popular beach in the country advise—the swimmer has a 50/50 chance of paddling against the deadly current.

Is a riptide the same as an undertow?

Undertow occurs along the entire beach face during times of large breaking waves, whereas rip currents are periodical at distinct locations. Riptides occur at inlets every day.

What does it feel like to be caught in a rip current?

“People start going under because they panic, and they feel like the current is pulling them under,” Carey said. “There is no current that will pull you under in the ocean.” Rip currents can also occur at spots where there’s a break in a sandbar; there, water is funneled out to sea.

What is the difference between a riptide and a rip current?

Rip current speeds are typically 2 to 3 feet per second and extend about 200 feet offshore. RIPTIDES A riptide (or rip tide) is a powerful current caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach. Fishermen are well aware of these tidal flows and make their plans accordingly.

How does a current drown you?

In a rip current, death by drowning occurs when a person has limited water skills and panics, or when a swimmer persists in trying to swim to shore against a strong rip current, and thus eventually becomes exhausted and drowns.