Why is it in the News?

Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have embarked on a project to continuously monitor and issue operational forecast alerts of rip currents.

What is a Rip Current?

• Rip currents are channelled currents of water flowing away from shore at surf beaches.
• They typically extend from near the shoreline, through the surf zone and past the line of breaking waves. (The surf zone is the area between the high tide level on the beach to the seaward side of breaking waves.)

Formation of Rip Currents:

• Rip currents form when waves break near the shoreline, piling up water between the breaking waves and the beach.
• One of the ways this water returns to sea is to form a rip current, a narrow stream of water moving swiftly away from shore, often perpendicular to the shoreline.

Size of the Rip Currents:

• Rip currents can be as narrow as 10 or 20 feet in width though they may be up to ten times wider.
  • The length of the rip current also varies.
• Rip currents begin to slow down as they move offshore, beyond the breaking waves, but sometimes extend for hundreds of feet beyond the surf zone.

Speed of the Rip Current:

• Rip current speeds can vary. Sometimes they are too slow to be considered dangerous.
• However, under certain wave, tide, and beach-shape conditions the speeds can quickly become dangerous.

Are All Rip Currents Dangerous?

• Rip currents are present on many beaches every day of the year, but they are usually too slow to be dangerous to beachgoers.
• However, under certain wave, tide, and beach-shape conditions they can increase to dangerous speeds.
• The strength and speed of a rip current will likely increase as wave height and wave period increase.

How Do Rip Currents Result in the Drowning of Swimmers?

• 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.
• Rip currents are the greatest surf zone hazard to all beachgoers. They can sweep even the strongest swimmer out to sea.
  • Rip currents are particularly dangerous for weak and non-swimmers.