Beware Rip Currents

Celebrations come and go and I miss remarkably many of them, but I'm not going to let this one slip by.

I just got notice from NOAA* today that 1 through 7 June is "Rip Current Awareness Week". I was a bit startled to learn this, but I don't want to make fun of it either, at least not too much. Rip currents are invisible, scary, and potentially lethal. So, if you're going to be visiting the beach, have a quick look at this page of NOAA tips and information about rip-current safety first.

NOAA tells us: "Rip currents are a deadly threat — accounting for more than 80 percent of lifeguard beach rescues." Thus, rip currents are a far greater threat to life than sharks.†

"Break the Grip of the Rip!"
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*NOAA = "[US] National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration". Note that the O-word is "oceanic" and not any number of other possibilities that people often substitute.

†That will serve as our bit of numeracy awareness for the day.

Posted on June 4, 2008 at 00.12 by jns · Permalink
In: All

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