Talk:Rip current
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The lifeguard page linked says "The United States Lifesaving Association estimates that the annual number of deaths due to rip currents on our nation's beaches exceeds 100", while the wikipedia page says 1000 deaths/year. Presumably this should be changed. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.110.227.93 (talk • contribs).
- Yes, 1000 deaths, or even 100 are far too many. We should we everything possible to change this situation and make more swimmers aware of the dangers of entering the water! Ewlyahoocom 01:57, 27 April 2006 (UTC)
-I changed the passage that suggested that undertow and rip tide are incorrect terms. I hate it when people say what terms are somehow incorrect, by that logic most words are incorrect since they don't litterally represent what they are named after.- —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Julian Diamond (talk • contribs).
[edit] Dangers
"A common misconception is that a rip occurring under the water, instead of on top — an undertow — is strong enough to drag people under the water; this is not true."
I don't think this statement is true. I've been in each of the Great Lakes during high waves (+2m) and I can tell you without hesitation that the "undertow" effect can most certainly pull a person off their feet if standing in the water, and quite possibly under the surface if one is not prepared. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.50.23.9 (talk • contribs).
[edit] Undertow
Can someone who knows please add a real section about Undertow? Undertow is a disambiguation page which (wrongly or rightly) suggests Rip current.
- http://www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov/glossary.shtml writes: "Undertow: There is spirited discussion and disagreement among coastal scientists on the existence of a nearshore process called "undertow," and hence there is not an agreed on definition for this word. Undertow is a term often and incorrectly used for rip currents. The best explanation for what many people attribute to "undertow" is as follows: After a wave breaks and runs up the beach, most of the water flows seaward; this "backwash" of water can trip waders, move them seaward, and make them susceptible to immersion from the next incoming wave; however, there is no surf zone force that pulls people under the water";
- http://www.usla.org/ripcurrents/glossary.asp offers the more concise: "Undertow: Different than a Rip Current!"
Thanks! Ewlyahoocom 01:57, 27 April 2006 (UTC)
