#SaveLivesAtTheBeach: How to survive a rip current and avoid drowning at the beach

My mom came home from work on Sunday, narrating to me the death of the son of a friend at Elegushi beach. She was in tears; young man, with a bright future ahead of him, about to embark on his NYSC, his mother was distraught. I went on Bella Naija this morning and found a similar story about two Covenant University graduates, Funmi Odusina (L) and Adesola Ogunmefun (R) who also lost their lives to rip currents. Read it here

Today's post sheds a little light on rip currents and how to survive them, whether you're a good swimmer or not, hopefully, this article will save a life someday.

 Here are 4 tips to spot a rip current:

• a channel of churning, choppy water.
• an area having a notable difference in water color.
• a line of foam, seaweed, or debris moving steadily seaward.
• a break in the incoming wave pattern.

1. The first tip I found on every website I surfed was to stay calm. Easier than it sounds right? but it's your best chance of survival. Don't fight the current, save your energy and try to float. Wave your hand and yell but stay calm. If you are a friend of a victim, think smart, throw the victim something that floats. Remember, many people drown while trying to save someone else from a rip current so don't go in.
2. Tread water if you cannot swim and let the current carry you. It will carry you out of the current. You will be deeper but you won't be dragged under, so just keep treading water until rescue arrives and attract attention by waving your arms frequently. If you are a strong swimmer, you can attempt swimming back to shore at an angle.
3. A rip current is a horizontal current. Rip currents do not pull people under the water–-they pull people away from shore. Drowning deaths occur when people pulled offshore are unable to keep themselves afloat and swim to shore. This may be due to any combination of fear, panic, exhaustion, or lack of swimming skills.
4. If you're a good swimmer and you find yourself getting pulled out to sea, you have to swim parallel to the beach so you can get out of the current. Once you escape the influence of the outbound water, you can start swimming back towards shore. If you're not able to swim out of the current, signal for help by waving (not flailing) your arms and calling out for help while you try to stay afloat. The current will eventually let up and you'll stop driving away from shore; by that point, it's a matter of being able to stay afloat long enough for help to arrive.
5. Know how to identify a rip current before you get caught in it.: A rip current will often appear as a streak or patch of water that either looks unusually calm compared to surrounding water or that appears a different color than the rest of the water in the area. You may be able to see a streak of muddy or sandy water and debris moving out to sea through the surf zone. 

Please be safe. 

I am currently collaborating with a few people to try and improve safety in our beaches, if the government won't help, then we need to protect ourselves, I'll spill the details soon once everything is concrete and I hope people will be willing to help when the time comes.

May their souls and souls of those who have died in these situations rest in peace, Amen.

Source. WikiHow Gawker