Red Cross offers rip current safety tips | Community Spirit

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – Memorial Day Weekend has arrived, and along with having fun in the sun, beachgoers ought to keep in mind how to stay safe.

Red Cross officials say that rip currents take lives on beaches across the U.S. each year.

In a press release, officials with the organization have provided the following list of safety tips regarding rip currents if you or someone you know becomes caught in a rip current:

• Remain calm to conserve energy and think clearly
• Never fight against the current
• Swim out of the current in a direction following the shoreline. When out of the current, swim at an angle--away from the current--towards shore
• If you are unable to swim out of the rip current, float or calmly tread water. When out of the current, swim towards shore
• If you are still unable to reach shore, draw attention to yourself by waving your arm and yelling for help
• Stay at least 100 feet away from piers and jetties. Permanent rip currents often exist near these structures
• If you see someone in trouble, get help from a lifeguard. If a lifeguard is not available, have someone call 9-1-1. Throw the victim something that floats - a lifejacket, cooler, inflatable ball. Yell instructions on how to escape the current. Remember, many people drown while trying to save someone else from a rip current. 

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