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Such currents can all be extremely dangerous, dragging swimmers away from the beach and leading to death by drowning when they attempt to fight the current and become exhausted. Rip currents cause approximately 100 deaths annually in the United States. About 80% of rescues by surf beach lifeguards are due to rip currents.
It is important to never attempt to fight a rip current. One should always swim parallel to the shoreline. If you see a person caught in one, yell at them to do so. This removes the swimmer from the current, which typically occurs most strongly between sandbars. Floating until the current disperses into deeper waters is also another method of surviving such a dangerous incident, but it may leave the swimmer farther out from shore. Rip currents can be deadly for non-swimmers as well. A person standing waist deep in water can be dragged out into deeper waters. If they are unable to swim, and are not wearing a flotation device, drowning is a strong possibility.
Avoiding the shore when surf is rough (such as during high onshore winds, or when a strong hurricane is far offshore) is an advisable safetySafety is the condition of being protected against failure, breakage, error or accidents. Protection involves here both causing and exposure. See also Air safety Protective clothing Risk management Road safety Safety engineering Security Ilities In Americ measure, as this is when very strong tides or currents are most prevalent. Posted warnings, where available, should always be heeded. Also, check the local newspaper and internet for tide timetables. (Beware, tides can be substantially different at beaches relatively close to each other.) Never go into the water without lifeguard supervision from -2 to +4 hours of low tide--especially at night.