World Water Safety

INTERNATIONAL LIFE SAVING FEDERATION
Gemeenteplein 26 – 3010 Leuven – Belgium
Tel: +32/ 16896060 - E-mail: ils.hq@telenet.be - Web: www.ilsf.org

LIFESAVING POSITION STATEMENT - LPS 18
RIP CURRENT SAFETY ADVICEPLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY
Rip currents are powerful currents of water moving away from shore. Avoid rip currents bylearning how to identify them. If caught in a rip current, conserve your energy and know youroptions.

INTRODUCTION
Over the past 15 years a considerable body of research has been conducted into how rip
currents behave in terms of flow circulation patterns and flow speed. Coastal scientists,
lifeguards and surf educators have used dye, GPS-equipped drifting devices and swimmers(both real and simulated using computer models) to better understand the dynamics of different
types of rip currents in a variety of geographic settings.
Collectively, this research has demonstrated and reinforced the complex and variable natureof rip currents with global implications for advice regarding how someone should react andpotentially self-escape if caught in one. The primary implication is that a single survival strategy
may not work in all situations.
The global effort to better understand the physical behaviour of rip currents as well as recentsocial science efforts including research on people’s knowledge of rip currents andexperiences being caught in rip currents, has contributed towards standardising safety advice.
The International Life Saving Federation (ILS) Rescue Commission brought together leading
scientists, researchers and beach safety educators and practitioners to form the RipSafe
Committee. Based on a review conducted by the committee of existing rip current research,
ILS has endorsed a standard suite of rip current safety advice.
While this position statement concentrates on rip current safety advice and does not include adiscussion on the various types of rip currents that may present at any one location, a recent
review summarises rip current types in relation to their flow circulation behaviour.(1)International Life Saving Federation
Lifesaving Position Statement – LPS-18. Rip Currents Safety AdvicePage 2

THE RIP CURRENT SAFETY ADVICEAVOIDANCE - Avoid Rip Currents:
1. Seek information – learn about rip currents so that you can identify and avoid them.
Seven common signs that rip currents may exist are:a. A narrow band of deeper, darker coloured water extending seaward;b. A narrow offshore band extending offshore with fewer breaking waves;c. A disturbed and rippled appearance, surrounded by smoother water;d. Debris floating seaward;
e. Foamy, turbulent or discoloured sandy water extending beyond the surf
break;
f. A large bowl-shaped embayment carved into the beach and shoreline;g. The presence of a natural or manmade boundary such as a pier, groyne orbreak wall.
2. Reduce your risk - swim near a lifeguard at a supervised location.
IF IN DOUBT, DON’T GO OUTSURVIVAL - If you get caught in a Rip Current:
1. Don’t panic - conserve your energy and consider your options.
2. Stay calm and seek help – particularly if you are close to a supervised location.
3. Float – go with the rip current and see if you are returned to shallower water.
4. Swim sideways across the rip current (approximately parallel to the beach) towards
areas of breaking waves.
5. Regularly reassess the situation – confirm your decided course of action is working. Ifnot, try an alternative. You may need to change your approach several times before
reaching safety.
RETURN TO SHORE
1. Once you are safely standing in shallow water you can walk, swim, bodysurf backtowards the beach at all times staying clear of the rip current?

AVOIDANCESEEK INFORMATION
Learn about rip currents so that you
can identify them and avoid them

REDUCE YOUR RISK.
Swim at a supervised location

IF IN DOUBT, DON’T GO OUT

International Life Saving Federation
Lifesaving Position Statement – LPS-18. Rip Currents Safety AdvicePage 3

IF CAUGHT IN A RIP CURRENTSURVIVAL
DON’T PANIC
Conserve your energy andconsider your options

STAY CALM AND SEEK HELP.
Particularly if you are close
to a supervised location
FLOAT
Go with the rip
current and see if
you are returned toshallow water

SWIM
Across the rip
current (neveragainst it) towards
the breaking waves

REGULARLY REACCESS YOUROPTIONS
Confirm your decided courseof action is working. If not,try an alternative

RETURN TO SHORE

International Life Saving FederationLifesaving Position Statement – LPS-18. Rip Currents Safety Advice

Page 4BACKGROUND
Rip currents are strong, narrow and seaward flowing currents that occur on any beach or bodyof water that experiences waves breaking across a wide surf zone [2].
Rip current appearance is highly variable, depending on the local geography, surf conditions,and type of rip [1] [3] [4] [5]. Although not restricted just to rip currents, seven common signs thatrip currents may exist are:
1. A narrow band of deeper, darker coloured water extending seaward;
2. A narrow offshore band extending offshore with fewer breaking waves;
3. A disturbed and rippled appearance, surrounded by smoother water;
4. Debris floating seaward;
5. Foamy, turbulent or discoloured sandy water extending beyond the surf break;6. A large bowl-shaped embayment carved into the beach and shoreline;
7. The presence of a natural or manmade boundary such as a pier, groyne or break wall.
Rip currents are an important risk to swimmers in the coastal environment [6] [7]. The risk varies
according to several factors such as the weather, wave conditions, tide level, coastal
morphology and geology, anthropogenic features as well as the ability and experience of theperson in the water. Rip currents continue to represent the major cause of rescues andfatalities at surf beaches around the world. Developing safety advice that is concise, easy torecall and appropriate for the hazard is difficult due to the dynamic nature of the environment.
the actions of “swim parallel” or “float” is the better survival strategy. Research has
demonstrated that contradictory actions of “swim parallel” and “float” are both appropriate indifferent situations [8] [9] [10] [11].
Rip currents are inherently complex with flow behaviour varying between different types of ripcurrents, between adjacent rip currents, and within a single rip current. They are also often
difficult to recognise by people who have not been trained in how to spot a rip current [12][13].
Different types of rip currents often will require a different survival strategy should a person becaught in one. Without adequate education and awareness of how to spot and avoid a rip
current and appropriate survival techniques, people will continue to drown.
A major influence on rip current safety advice is the variability in human response to beingcaught in a rip current. An individual may choose to float, stay calm, conserve their energy,
wave for assistance and wait to see if the rip current returns them to shallow water or arerescued. This is often difficult to do if the rip current is taking you further away from the shore
before circulating back towards shore. The other alternative is to take action and swim tosafety ensuring they do not swim against the current or tire themselves before reaching safety.
This satisfies the human reaction to want to do something (fight or flight)[15],but may lead toexhaustion if the direction is not appropriate and assumes that the person has adequate
swimming ability.
Given that each rip current works in a unique way and each person will respond differently,
the best advice is to avoid the hazard altogether. Learn how to identify rip currents and avoid
them [14] or reduce individual risk by swimming at a supervised location [16]. If an individual findthemselves in a rip current, the research supports that knowing your options is the mostappropriate advice.

International Life Saving Federation
Lifesaving Position Statement – LPS-18. Rip Currents Safety Advice

Page 5

STATEMENT
1.

2.

3.
4.

There are different types of rip current that exhibit complex flow behaviour. Therefore,
no single piece of rip current safety advice related to rip escape actions will suit allsituations.
Identify rip currents and avoid entering the water near them. Seven common signs
that rip currents may exist are:
1. A narrow band of deeper, darker coloured water extending seaward;
2. A narrow offshore band extending offshore with fewer breaking waves;
3. A disturbed and rippled appearance, surrounded by smoother water;
4. Debris floating seaward;
5. Foamy, turbulent or discoloured sandy water extending beyond the surf break;6. A large bowl-shaped embayment carved into the beach and shoreline;
7. The presence of a natural or manmade boundary such as a pier, groyne orbreak wall.
Reduce individual risk by swimming at supervised locations.
ILS endorses the following rip current safety advice:
AVOIDANCE - Avoid Rip Currents:
a. Seek information and be aware – learn about rip currents so that you can identify
and avoid them.
b. Reduce your risk - swim near a lifeguard at a supervised location.
IF IN DOUBT, DON’T GO OUT

International Life Saving Federation
Lifesaving Position Statement – LPS-18. Rip Currents Safety AdvicePage 6

SURVIVAL - If you get caught in a Rip Current:
a. Don’t panic – float, conserve your energy and consider your options.
b. Do not swim directly back to the beach against the rip current flow.
c. Stay calm and seek help – particularly if you are close to a supervised location.
d. Float – go with the rip current flow and see if you are returned to shallower water.
e. Swim across the rip current - towards the breaking waves. If the rip current isflowing straight offshore, this will be in a direction parallel to the beach.
f. Regularly reassess the situation – if your decided course of action is not working,then try an alternative. You may need to change your approach several times
before reaching safety.
RETURN TO SHORE
a. Once you are safely standing in shallow water you can walk, swim, bodysurf backtowards the beach at all times staying clear of the rip current?

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE
This document is based on the latest research into rip current behavior and expert consensus.
POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT
Several members of the ILS RipSafe Committee have been involved in the researchmentioned in this position statement as well as contributing to the major reference material
acknowledged in this statement. None of the participants in the consensus process leading tothis position statement has a conflict of interest with the stakeholder industry, technology,
persons or organisations that are identified and/or impacted by the position statement.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The debate over rip current survival advice will continue. However, this statement is based on
research that has involved a significant time and financial investment associated with several
research grant programs, academic programs and practitioners who have studied rip current
behaviour. The RipSafe Committee would like to acknowledge the following publication fordelivering the current consensus relating to rip current safety advice in a concise body of work.
Bradstreet, A., Brander, R.W., McCarroll, R.J., Brighton, B., Dominey-Howes, D,.
Drozdzewsk, D., Sherker. S., Turner, I.L., Roberts, A., MacMahan, J. (2014). Rip current
survival principles: towards consistency. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 72, 85-92.
REFERENCES
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4.
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6.
7.

Castelle, B., Scott, T., Brander, R.W., McCarroll, R.J. (2016). Rip current type, circulation and hazard. Earth ScienceReviews, 163, 85-92.
MacMahan, J., Reiners, A., Brown, J., Brander, R.W., Thornton, E., Stanton, T., Brown, J., Carey, W. (2011). An
introduction to rip currents based on field observations. Journal of Coastal Research, 27 (4), iii – vi.
Brander R, (2017). Rip Currents. In: The Encyclopaedia of Coastal Science (Eds. C. Finkl, C. Makowski). Encyclopedia ofEarth Science Series, Springer, Cham. Doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-48657-4_261-2.
Short, A.D., Hogan, C. (1994). Rip currents and beach hazards: their impact on public safety and implications for coastalmanagement. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 12, 197-209.
Surf Life Saving Australia (2016. Public Safety Aquatic Rescue Manual ,34th Ed. (Revised), Surf Life Saving Australia.
Brighton, B., Sherker, S., Brander, R.W, Thompson, M., Bradstreet, A., 2013. Rip current related drowning deaths andrescues in Australia 2004-2011. Natural Hazards and Earth Systems Sciences, 13, 1069-1075.
Brewster, B.C., Gould, R.E., Brander, R.W. (2019). Estimations of rip current rescues and drowning in the United States.

International Life Saving Federation
Lifesaving Position Statement – LPS-18. Rip Currents Safety Advice

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Page 7Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 19(2), 389-397.
McCarroll, R.J., Brander, R.W., MacMahon, J., Turner, I.L., Reniers, A., Brown, J., Bradstreet, A,. Sherker, S. (2013).
Evaluation of swimmer based rip current escape strategies. Natural Hazards, 71, 1821-1846.
McCarroll, R.J., Castelle, B., Brander, R.W., Scott, T., 2015. Modelling rip current flow and bather escape strategies
across a transverse bar and rip channel morphology. Geomorphology, 246, 502-518.
Castelle, B., McCarroll, R.J., Brander, R.W., Scott, T., Dubarbier, B. (2016). Modelling the alongshore variability of
optimum rip current escape strategies on a multiple rip-channelled beach. Natural Hazards, 81, 664-686.
Van Leeuwen, B., McCarroll, R. J., Brander, R.W., Turner, I.L., Power, H., Bradstreet, A. (2016). Examining rip current
escape strategies in non-traditional beach morphologies. Natural Hazards, 81, 145-165.
.Sherker, S., Williamson, A., Hatfield, J., Brander, R.W., Hayen, A. (2010). Beachgoers’ beliefs and behaviours in relation
to beach flags and rip currents. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 42, 1785-1804
Caldwell, N., Houser, C., Meyer-Arendt, K. (2013). Ability of beach users to identify rip currents at Pensacola Beach,Florida. Natural Hazards, 68(2), 1041–1056
Bradstreet, A., Brander, R.W., McCarroll, R.J., Brighton, B., Dominey-Howes, D,. Drozdzewsk, D.,, Sherker. S., Turner,I.L., Roberts, A., MacMahan, J. (2014). Rip current survival principles: towards consistency. Journal of Coastal Research,SI 72, 85-92.
Brander, R.W., Bradstreet, A., Sherker, S., MacMahan, J. (2011). Responses of swimmers caught in rip currents:
perspectives on mitigating the global rip current hazard. International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education, 5:476482.
Seattle Childrens Hospital (2012) “International Open Water Drowning Prevention Guidelines”.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Department of Commerce, Rip Current Survival Guide
https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/ripcurrent/welcome.html

APPROVALPolicy Statement developed by the ILS RipSafe Committee April 2016. – Updated August 2019
Updated Policy Statement agreed by the ILS Rescue Commission January 2020