The Reliability of Turbidity and Debris Moving Seaward to Spot Rip Currents on Florida Beaches and the Need for Better Warning and Education Programs

Abstract

ABSTRACT Fletemeyer, J., 2014. The reliability of turbidity and debris moving seaward to spot rip currents on Florida Beaches and the need for better warning and education programs. In: Lee, J.L.; Leatherman, Stephen P., and Lee, J. (eds.), Proceedings 3rd International Rip Current Symposium (Busan, Republic of Korea). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 72, pp. 39–43. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. In response to the estimated 100 bathers that fatally drown in rip currents on America's beaches every year, several warning and public education programs have been developed and implemented. Results from a 20-year study conducted by Fletemeyer on Panama City Beach, Florida reports that these programs, although well intended, are marginally effective with little gains in what bathers accurately know about rip currents. Education programs are often predicated on the belief that the public can learn how to spot rip currents while standing on the beach and studying the water. Two indicators ...