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Articles on Drownings

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The gap between breaking waves in North Carolina indicates a rip current flowing away from shore. National Weather Service

Rip currents are dangerous for swimmers but also ecologically important – here’s how scientists are working to understand these ‘rivers of the sea’

Rip currents are a leading cause of near-shore drownings, but there are effective ways to survive one. And these phenomena also play important ecological roles that are an emerging research area.
Swimming pool closures at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic led to millions of Canadians missing swimming lessons. (Shutterstock)

Fewer swimming lessons and lifeguard shortages make swimming even riskier this summer

Gaps in swimming lessons, lifeguard shortages and climate change may make water-based activities even riskier this summer.
Tourist are a high-risk group for drownings. (Shutterstock)

Why your tourist brain may try to drown you

Just because a beach is accessible, has restaurants, lounge chairs and vendors, and is near a resort, does not mean it’s safe.
Media reports tend to focus on people who drown at the beach. But almost as many people drown in rivers and lakes. Where are the safety messages for them? from www.shutterstock.com

Australia’s spike in summer drownings: what the media misses

Migrants are no more at risk of drowning than Australian-born swimmers but you’d never know from media reports.
Rohingya refugees from Myanmar travelled in this fishing boat to Sumatra, Indonesia, with officials announcing some 2000 people were rounded up or rescued after arriving in Malaysia and Indonesia over the weekend. EPA

Pushed offshore, the ‘boat people’ crisis demands regional response

Australia may have ‘stopped the boats’ but the tragedy of people drowning at sea continues to our north and is getting worse. A regional solution to the refugee crisis is urgently needed.
A refugee displays an image of one of his three children who drowned when the boat on which the family fled the war in Syria sank in the Mediterranean. EPA/Pete Muller

Something vital is missing from EU’s 10-point plan to stop deaths at sea

Political leaders have a ready culprit in people smugglers for drownings at sea. The problem is that this ignores responsibility for eliminating all other options for these people to avoid harm.

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